DepEd: 'Hard-to-fill' Posts Vacant Due to Lack of Qualified Applicants

The Department of Education (DepEd) has stated that some "hard-to-fill" positions within the agency remain vacant due to a lack of qualified applicants and other factors. This was highlighted by Deputy Speaker and Davao De Oro Representative Maria Carmen Zamora during the plenary debates on the department's proposed 2027 budget. According to Zamora, these hard-to-fill positions include non-teaching roles such as guidance counselors, attorneys, and special education and science teachers. Factors contributing to hiring delays also involve the waiving of beneficiaries under special hiring guidelines and a scarcity of applicants with appropriate specializations. Previously, during a House of Representatives budget deliberation for DepEd's 2027 budget proposal, the agency received zero allocation for the hiring of new teachers in the upcoming fiscal year. ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio questioned whether DepEd would refrain from requesting new plantilla items, given the agency's prior report of a shortage of over 14,000 teachers. In response, Zamora clarified that the department's hiring process is ongoing and will continue until December of this year, as the allocation from the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is still being implemented starting this year. Zamora added that the 2026 GAA created a total of 31,428 positions, of which 22,711 had been filled and 8,688 remained vacant as of June 30, 2026. She stated that factoring in an additional 12,646 unfilled positions carried over from previous years, the number of vacant teaching positions under DepEd currently exceeds 20,000. Furthermore, the House on Tuesday approved DepEd's proposed P975.96-billion budget for 2027. However, several lawmakers flagged decreases in allocations for some line items, including a minimal increase in the department's Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE). MOOE refers to funds allocated for the day-to-day operating expenses of the department, including individual public schools across the country. Tinio pointed out that the marginal MOOE increase would be outpaced by the country's inflation rate, offering little relief amid rising prices. "Why is the proposed increase in the NEP and the General Appropriations Bill so small, not even reaching one percent?" Tinio said in Filipino. "That means, in effect, this is a decrease because it is way below even the current inflation rate today. So, it did not even keep pace with it." Data presented before the House showed the following increases in school operations budgets compared with the 2026 GAA: Tinio said the low MOOE allocation remains a primary complaint among schools, with teachers often forced to pay out of pocket for classroom and school needs. "If we ask the schools, that is one of the basic complaints. At the school level, the MOOE is insufficient, right?" Tinio said. "Generating operating expenses is always a problem, and it is often left to teachers to cover out of their own pockets." For its part, Zamora said DepEd follows a formula in determining allocations for each school, adding that the department implemented a policy adjustment last year to refine these allocations based on various factors. "In line with the setting of the formula in terms of allocation of MOOE for schools, we take note… Very valid observation," Zamora said. Tinio proposed that roughly P3 billion be added to the MOOE allocation to help schools keep pace with inflation. — MCG, GMA News Source: GMA News Philippines