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Principal interest

The latest data of the Department of Education shows that of the 45,918 public schools nationwide, only 20,718, or 45 percent, have principals who passed the qualifying exams for the position.

Aside from the low passing rate, there are also at least 5,904 exam takers who have yet to be promoted even after passing the National Qualifying Examinations for School Heads (NQESH) in 2021 and 2023. Also called the Principal’s test, NQESH is a compulsory exam for aspiring principals and assistant principals.

These are among the findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) in its ongoing evaluation of the education sector.

The NQESH has had a historically low passing rate. Only 36 percent and 26 percent of examinees made the cut in the 2021 and 2023 tests, respectively. And while there were no such exams given in 2019, 2022, and 2022, the passing rate was 0.68 percent in 2018, 25 percent in 2017, and 2 percent for 2016.

EDCOM members expressed alarm over the figures in a hearing held last Friday with education officials and stakeholders. “We are severely short of principals. Are you not panicking?” Pasig City Rep. and EDCOM cochair Roman Romulo told DepEd officials.

Education Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral said the agency was in the process of revising the parameters set in 1997, wherein principals may be appointed only in public schools with at least 9 teachers for elementary and 6 for high school. Those with fewer teaching personnel are administered only by “teachers-in-charge” who often lack standardized training and support.

DepEd is currently drawing up a new policy that will target a new policy that will have a ratio of one principal per school, but this will require funding.

Another DepEd policy that needs review is Department Order No. 7 that was issued in 1999, where school heads are reassigned to another school every three to five years, which has impacts on the student’s learning environment and the continuity of school programs.

The deplorable state of the public education system cannot seem to run out of missing parts. From classrooms, to learning materials, to teachers, and even qualified principals, the DepEd has several critical backlogs that need to be addressed. Will solutions ever be found for these problems, or is the Filipino learner doomed to be left behind for is there any hope left in the immediate horizon?*

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