The Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday said it will deploy over 15,000 qualified passers of the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) as principals in the country.
The decision aims to address the shortage of school heads, with around 55 percent of public schools operating without principals, according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II).
The EDCOM II cited several factors, including historically low passing rates for NQESH, high personnel turnover, insufficient pipeline of candidates, burdensome qualification processes, and the absence of structured mentoring, coaching and formal induction programs.
“This pressing issue is an eye-opener. So many of our schools operate without brains —because that’s what our principals are, the brains of our schools. Rest assured, DepEd is taking swift action to address this problem,” DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said in a statement.
At least 7,916 NQESH passers in 2024 can help fill vacant principal positions, according to the DepEd.
Other efforts also include the return of principals to their assigned schools; reassignment for areas with a surplus or oversupply of qualified principals; as well as the reclassification of Head Teachers I to V as School Principal I items under the Expanded Career Progression policy.
Around 14,761 Head Teachers I to V may be reclassified as School Principal I; while 954 Head Teachers VI and Assistant School Principal II will be retitled School Principal I, with acting school heads to be prioritized as “on-stream candidates.”
In 2026, 5,870 additional School Principal I items will be created to help achieve the 1:1 principal-to-school ratio in the country.
In his last State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the quality of education “rests on the quality of our teachers.”
“Every classroom that we build will be but an empty and lifeless structure without its moving force —the teacher, but our teachers are not just perfunctory figures in our schools. They are the very foundation of our educational system,” President Marcos said. (PNA)