LAOAG CITY — The Department of Education in Ilocos Norte is still short of teaching personnel, Schools Division Superintendent Vilma Eda said on Monday.
Eda said there are still a number of teaching and non-teaching positions for immediate filling up.
“While there are a number of applicants, some are not qualified,” she lamented. “Turnover is fast because there are those who also get promoted to higher positions. So, we are still in need of more teachers in Senior and Junior High Schools.”
For example, Eda said they are looking for more applicants in English, Math, Foods and Beverage, Cookery, Filipino, Social Studies, Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health subjects, among others.
“We ask our college graduates, even those who do not have license yet, to file their applications, as we need more teachers for senior high program,” Eda said, as he urged interested applicants to go the Ilocos Norte Schools Division Office in Laoag City to file their applications.
She said even those who are not graduates of education but specialized in these subjects can apply.
Under the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, graduates of science, mathematics, engineering, music, and other degree courses can be hired to teach specialized subjects in elementary and secondary education schools with shortages in qualified applicants who have passed the Licensure Exam for Teachers.
For school year 2018-2019, the Department of Education report shows there are more than 75,000 new teaching positions created nationwide.
According to the 2016 United Nations Human Development Report, the Philippines has a primary school teacher-pupil ratio of 1:31 which remains far from the ratio of 1:11 in Malaysia, 1:15 in Thailand, 1:17 in Indonesia, 1:19 in Vietnam, and even 1:28 in Myanmar. (Leilanie Adriano/PNA)
