The recently released Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) Year2 report has revealed that almost 25,000 schools under the Department of Education (DepEd) have no fully designated principals.
The report said that a total of 24,916 schools are without principals, of which 13,332 are headed only by a head teacher; 8,916 by a teacher in charge (TIC); 2,337 by an officer in charge (OIC); and 193 led by “undefined.”
The data means that only 20,381 out of the 45,199 schools have sitting principals, although not all of them had the corresponding plantilla item, as only 18,744 have plantilla items, but 1,381 were instead led by head teachers, TIC, OIC, “underscoring challenges in adhering to policy guidelines.”
EDCOM also noted “widespread inconsistencies” in the allocation of school heads since 12,057 schools have “incorrect school head items.”
“The issue was especially prevalent among elementary schools, with 8,533 pure elementary schools and 639 schools offering both elementary and junior high levels failing to comply with DepEd policies,” the report noted.
“Overall, existing DepEd policies governing school head allocation are not being adequately enforced,” it said. “The observed inconsistencies in the deployment and designation of school heads across various schools highlight a critical need for DepEd to reevaluate and refine its strategies for assigning school leaders.”
Alliance of Concerned Teachers chair Vladimer Quetua explained that unlike a sitting principal, temporary school heads have limited access to resources and will have to get approvals from their respective district directors.
EDCOM noted that the absence of principal plantilla positions and the low passing rate for the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) as among the burdens and barriers on the lack of principals in schools.
This is a serious and multi-pronged problem that the DepEd should’ve addressed a long time ago, but has obviously chosen to ignore, as the country’s education system shouldn’t have to come to the point where almost 25,000 schools are without principals. The burden is now on the current DepEd leadership to find solutions to this issue that should be among the reasons why the country’s education system is ranked among the world’s worst.*
