To provide support to private education institutions offering basic education, the Department of Education (DepEd) has established the Private Education Office (PEO) at the DepEd Central Office (CO).
"With the establishment of the PEO, DepEd can now fully exercise its supervisory and regulatory functions and continue to implement programs of assistance to schools, learners, teachers, and other personnel in private education," Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said in a statement issued Friday, March 18.
The agency issued DepEd Order No. 9 series of 2022 announcing the creation of PEO.
DepEd said that the PEO was created to “take the lead in all matters about private education” lodged in the Central Office. The office also aims to assist the Secretary in ensuring that DepEd’s mandate relative to private education is fulfilled by the Department in all levels of governance identified in Republic Act 9155.
"Aside from supervision and regulation of private schools, the Department also provides support to private education through technical and financial assistance," Briones said.
DepEd said that the PEO is expected to “lead a whole-of-agency approach toward the institutionalization of public-private complementarity across all governance levels through appropriate interventions.”
This includes, but is not limited to, the development of strategic directions and frameworks on the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the basic education system.
“The PEO will collaborate with other offices to gather feedback on the implementation of this DepEd Order from concerned internal and external partners to assess its contribution to organizational effectiveness in the fulfillment of our mandate relative to private education matters,” Briones explained.
DepEd also noted that the PEO is expected to act on, or when warranted, make recommendations to the Secretary on all matters concerning private education that are elevated to the DepEd Central Office and monitor their resolution.