Teacher expertise gap plan sought 

A PHILIPPINE senator has called on the government to come up with a roadmap that ensures public school educators’ qualifications after a study found that more than half are teaching subjects not aligned with their courses.

In a statement, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said about 62% of high school teachers are assigned to teach subjects they did not major in, based on data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II).

He said the hiring process for teachers needs to zero in on subject specialization and expertise to address these gaps in teacher qualifications.

Under the 2022 Excellence in Teacher Education Act, the Department of Education (DepEd) the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Professional Regulation Commission is tasked to boost teacher training through a roadmap equipping teachers with skills to improve student performance.

DepEd earlier said it is looking to hire about 26,000 teachers next year to close the gap in the country’s shortage of 46,000 educators to service 43,000 schools nationwide.

The agency’s proposed P793.177-billion budget next year has an allocation of P3.43 billion to hire employees for nonteaching positions which would ease the administrative load for teachers. — John Victor D. Ordoñez