The Department of Education (DepEd) has assessed nearly 24,000 aspiring school principals over the weekend to address the long-standing shortage of school heads in public schools.

DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said a total of 23,994 examinees took the Fiscal Year 2025 National Assessment for School Heads (NASH) Batch 2 last Sunday, May 17, across 65 testing sites nationwide.

Angara said the assessment supports the administration’s push to improve the quality of basic education through stronger leadership in schools.

“This assessment aims to strengthen school leadership capacity and expand the pool of qualified and eligible candidates for school principal positions. It is consistent with our reform direction toward the vision of ‘One School, One School Principal,’” Angara noted in a statement Tuesday, May 19, referring to the department’s policy that each public school should have its own full-time principal assigned exclusively to that campus.

The assessment was conducted amid the difficult situation being experienced in many public schools that continue to operate without permanent principals.

In several cases, one school head supervises multiple campuses and the shortage has long been linked to gaps in school management, teacher support, and learner performance.

The screening was seen by DepEd as a critical step in filling leadership vacancies across the public school system at a time when the country is also grappling with learning gaps and overcrowded classrooms.

DepEd said the NASH is meant to build a “strong pipeline” of future school leaders who can improve school operations and raise education standards.

The agency framed the initiative as part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen basic education through more effective educational leadership.

The examination measured the leadership readiness of aspiring principals using competencies under the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads. DepEd said the results would also help identify competency gaps among applicants and guide future training and leadership programs.

To ensure the orderly, secure, and seamless conduct of the nationwide activity, DepEd deployed 132 Central Office (CO) monitors, together with the members of the NASH Technical Working Group composed of regional monitors and Schools Division NASH focal persons serving as assessment facilitators, supervisors, and technical officers across all 17 regions to assist local testing centers.

Before the examination, the department conducted a nationwide mock assessment on May 10 to test the online platform and prepare examinees for the process. The mock run also allowed DepEd to check device compatibility, technical readiness, and system stability ahead of the simultaneous examination.

“Through the sustained implementation of the NASH, DepEd reinforces its commitment to strengthening school leadership as a critical pillar of education reform, which recognizes that effective school leaders play a vital role in improving teaching quality, school effectiveness, and learner outcomes nationwide,” DepEd said.