Philippines Accelerates Hiring of School Counselors to Combat Bullying

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has significantly hastened its hiring process for school counselors as part of efforts to address the rising trend of bullying in schools, Education Secretary Sonny Angara announced on Monday. During a congressional budget hearing, Angara stated that the DepEd has cut the hiring pipeline for school counselor associates to 30 days from nearly four months, touting interventions aimed at curbing bullying in schools. "We shortened the time for the hiring of school counselor associates," he told lawmakers. School counselors, hired by DepEd to promote student mental health, must hold a psychology or related degree and have at least 200 hours of experience. Angara also mentioned that teachers are being trained to deal with bullying, as the agency is strengthening its child protection mechanisms to keep bullying in check. "We will train the teachers on how to deal with problems like this," he said in mixed English and Filipino. The DepEd is also seeking to foster a stronger sense of community among parents and children, as Angara noted, "the origins of bullying are quite complex and many have origins in the household." READ: Bullying goes beyond school grounds, child rights advocates say Data from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that 43 percent of girls and 53 percent of boys in the Philippines reported being bullied at least a few times each month. The study found that one in every three Filipino students experienced bullying at least once a week. It also showed that 28 percent of the 7,193 Filipino students from 188 schools who took part in the assessment reported that others had "made fun" of them, while 19 percent said they were threatened by other students. /jpv