ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 16,000 new teachers to improve student focus, ease workloads—Palace

16,000 new teachers to improve student focus, ease workloads—Palace

Published May 19, 2025 12:54 pm  |  Updated May 19, 2025 04:22 pm

At A Glance

  • Castro said the move was part of the administration's broader push to strengthen the country's education system and ensure that teachers can focus more on individual students.
Malacañang said the creation of 16,000 new teaching positions for School Year 2025-2026 will address classroom shortages, reduce teachers’ workload, and improve the quality of instruction in public schools.

A group reiterated that teachers are not the barrier to reform but the key to it and that meaningful education reform must begin with respecting and empowering the profession. (JOJO RINOZA /FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
A group reiterated that teachers are not the barrier to reform but the key to it and that meaningful education reform must begin with respecting and empowering the profession. (JOJO RINOZA /FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
(JOJO RINOZA /FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced on Sunday, May 18, the approval of the new teaching slots ahead of the start of the next school year on June 16.

In her press briefing on Monday, May 19, Castro said the move was part of the administration’s broader push to strengthen the country’s education system and ensure that teachers can focus more on individual students.

“Ang nais po ng Pangulo ay mabigyan po ang bawat estudyante, matutukan po ng kanilang guro para po mas maging maganda ang kanilang pagsasanay at pag-aaral (The President wants every student to receive enough attention from their teacher to improve their training and learning),” she said.

The government has allotted P4.19 billion under the Department of Education’s (DepEd) built-in appropriation in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to fund the hiring of new teachers.

This is likewise a significant increase from the previous annual average of 10,000 teaching posts during the term of Vice President and former DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte.

“This will add teaching workforces in the schools,” Castro said. “Ito lamang po ay unang parte—16,000 teaching positions ay unang parte lamang po dahil ang target po ay 20,000 teaching positions (This is only the first phase—the 16,000 teaching positions are just part of the goal to reach 20,000),” Castro said.

The Palace Press Officer added that the move reflects President Marcos’ commitment to improving foundational education, similar to how he immediately acted on the recommendation of current Education Secretary Sonny Angara to fast-track the release of funds for child development centers.

Meanwhile, Castro said the government is also looking into expanding classroom construction to accommodate both the increasing student population and the new teaching workforce.

“Mas gugustuhin po rin natin na magkaroon po ng mas maraming classrooms para sa darating na pasukan (We would also prefer to have more classrooms for the upcoming school year,” she said.

The approved new positions include 15,343 Teacher I posts, 157 Special Science Teachers, and 500 Special Education Teachers.

Related Tags

teachers Claire Castro Department of Education
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.