Public school teachers in Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur welcomed the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) approval to hire 16,000 additional teachers and 10,000 non-teaching personnel for the School Year 2025–2026.
The move answers President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s call to reduce the administrative burden on educators and allow them to focus on improving the quality of teaching.
Michael Malvar, a teacher at Sarrat National High School in Ilocos Norte, said the additional manpower will greatly help schools. “This move shows real support for our educators and will surely benefit our students in the long run,” he said.
Tricia Genirosa Ancheta, a teacher at Binacud Integrated School in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, shared that their school has only one administrative assistant. “As an integrated school, there should be at least three administrative aides for elementary, junior high school and senior high school to lessen our workload,” she said.
Madelyne Alegado, a multigrade teacher at Sideg Elementary School in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, said managing both teaching and administrative work is demanding. “If our non-teaching tasks are lessened, we will be able to focus more on giving quality education to our learners,” she said.
Grade 1 teacher Leonora Melchor from Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, hopes to see the new non-teaching staff deployed directly to schools. “As a teacher, the hiring of more non-teaching personnel is beneficial for us. I hope they will be assigned in schools and not just in division offices because our voluminous paperwork is too much to bear,” she said.
Other educators also stressed that administrative work often follows them home, eating into time meant for preparing lesson plans and improving teaching methods.