Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Tuesday said he is looking forward to a “historic” career progression among public school teachers within the year.
Angara made the announcement after presiding over a mass oath-taking ceremony of 542 teachers promoted under the Expanded Career Progression (ECP) System.
In a statement, Angara stressed that the scale of current promotions shows a historic shift under the Marcos administration.
“Ang estimate po natin (Our estimation is), before 2026 ends, basta na-release po ‘yong pera, makakapag-promote tayo ng (once the budget is released, we can promote about) 100,000 teaching positions,” he said.
The promoted teachers lauded President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the DepEd’s ongoing reforms, including the ECP.
“First time sa kasaysayan po ng DepEd na ganyang karami ang na-promote, ang nabigyan ng pagkilala (This will be the first time in the history of DepEd to have that number of promotion or recognition),”Angara added.
Among them was Carmen Zorilla, now a Teacher IV of Tropical Village Elementary School, who expressed her gratitude for the promotion that she waited for nearly three decades.
“Sa loob ng 28 taon, Teacher I po ako. Kontento na sana ako, dahil ang sukatan ng tagumpay ko ay ang bawat batang natutong bumasa, umunawa, at mangarap. Hindi ko po inakalang darating ang panahong ito, na mapu-promote ako (For 28 years, I’ve been a Teacher I. I’m contented because I know that my success is measured by each student learning how to read, understand and dream. But I didn’t expect that this time will come – that I would be promoted),” she said.
Zorilla said the ECP is proof that teachers can progress in their career, and no educator would ever need to retire as Teacher I, as promised by the President.
To date, the DepEd has already hired 27,080 public school teachers and reclassified 16,025 educators nationwide.
To further clear promotion backlogs and ensure a stable workforce, the agency has also processed new teaching, school leadership, guidance counseling and administrative positions. (PNA)