DepEd to hire 16,000 new teachers

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) said on Tuesday, May 20, that it will hire 16,000 new teachers after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Department of Budget and Management approved the creation of new teaching items.

The hiring, seen to “decongest overcrowded classrooms” and ease teachers’ workload, is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2025.

“We thank President Marcos for his firm instruction to prioritize our teachers and learners. These new teaching items directly respond to his call to reduce class sizes and lighten the workload of our educators on the ground,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.

According to the DepEd, the hiring of new teachers is also expected to address the need for “educators with appropriate specializations, particularly in kindergarten, elementary, and subject-specific areas in junior and senior high school.”

This latest development in the country’s education sector is crucial, as the Philippines faces a shortage of nearly 90,000 teachers. In many schools, teachers are often assigned to subjects outside their specialization to make up for the lack of teaching personnel. (READ: 6 in 10 high school teachers handling subjects they did not major in – EDCOM 2)