MANILA, Philippines – As public school teachers clamor against “excessive” paperwork and systems, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Wednesday, October 3, it is eyeing the creation of more non-teaching positions to unburden the teachers.

In a statement, the DepEd said the possible solution was identified after it conducted a study on the “type and magnitude” of tasks teacher’s performed based on the size and location of their schools. (READ: DepEd reduces paperwork required of teachers)

The DepEd said it would request for the positions from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which approves and allocated funds for the creation of new government posts.

This is on top of the 125,000 vacant teaching positions and 2,000 new teaching positions for DepEd’s Alternative Learning System announced by DBM earlier this year. 

The move comes after the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, composed of around 30,000 teachers, camped outside the DepEd headquarters to call on DepEd to review its systems that cause teachers to be overworked.

They wanted the DepEd to do the following:

• Stop the implementation of the Results-Based Performance Management System (RPMS)
• Stop ongoing classroom observation of teachers
• Stop the implementation of the Daily Lesson Log (DLL)
• Prohibit Saturday makeup classes
• Implement a 6-hour workday

In its response to teachers’ demands, the DepEd earlier maintained all its requirements were “legal and necessary” for the improvement of basic education. – Rappler.com