ELIMINATING ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES TO FREE INSTRUCTIONAL TIME

REDENTOR D. BENGCO

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio has signed a directive eliminating public school teachers' administrative responsibilities immediately.

Department of Education (DepEd) Order 002, s. 2024, was signed by Duterte, claiming that this will allow educators to make the most of their time spent in the real classroom. In a statement issued, Duterte stated, "Let's bring our teachers back to the classrooms."

DepEd will also be providing additional [Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses] to enable schools to hire the necessary administrative support staff, in addition to filling 5,000 administrative positions for 2023 and an additional 5,000 positions for 2024, in order to ensure its effective implementation, according to the DepEd memo.

Giving teachers administrative responsibilities earlier this year is discouraged by a 2019 study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), since this takes their focus away from their primary role as instructors.

Personnel administration, property/physical facility custodianship, general administrative support, financial management, records management, feeding, school disaster risk reduction and management, and other related programs are among the administrative duties taken away from teachers.

Beyond their core job in education, public school teachers frequently participate in activities connected to other governmental initiatives, such as offering assistance during elections. The policy mandates that schools division offices (SDOs) promptly apply clustering tactics and assign administrative support workers to schools that are grouped, as a temporary measure.

In addition, school leaders and non-teaching staff will take on the administrative duties that teachers currently hold immediately, and administrative support staff will be hired within a maximum of 60 days. According to DepEd, policies on teacher overtime compensation and a disaster fund will also be formed.

DepEd seeks to guarantee that educators get fair compensation for hours spent in the classroom above the 6-hour cap stipulated in the Magna Carta for instructors.

-oOoThe in Pulungbulu Elementary School, Division of Angeles City, Pampanga.

author is a Master Teacher I