Ilocos Norte: Public school teachers in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur are expressing approval over the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) recent decision to approve the hiring of 16,000 additional teachers and 10,000 non-teaching personnel for the School Year 2025-2026. This initiative aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directive to alleviate administrative burdens at the Department of Education (DepEd), allowing educators to focus on enhancing their teaching skills and the quality of education.
According to Philippines News Agency, Michael Malvar, a teacher at Sarrat National High School in Ilocos Norte, remarked that the influx of additional personnel will significantly aid schools by enabling educators to concentrate more on instructional responsibilities rather than administrative duties. Malvar emphasized the positive impact this support will have on students over time.
Tricia Genirosa Ancheta, a seasoned educator with 15 years of experience at Binacud Integrated School in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, highlighted the current lack of administrative support, noting that their school only has one administrative assistant for paperwork. Ancheta advocated for increasing the number of administrative aides to three, catering to different educational levels to reduce the workload on teachers.
Madelyne Alegado, who teaches multiple grades at Sideg Elementary School in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, shared the challenges of managing both teaching and administrative tasks. She noted that reducing their non-teaching responsibilities would allow educators to concentrate more on delivering quality education to students.
Leonora Melchor, a Grade 1 teacher at Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, expressed her desire for more administrative aides before her retirement next year. Melchor hopes the newly hired non-teaching personnel will be stationed in schools to manage the substantial paperwork burden faced by educators.
Despite the broad range of school activities, including curricular and extracurricular tasks, educators like Melchor remain hopeful that these changes will enable them to focus more on teaching rather than administrative obligations, thereby improving their work-life balance.
