The Department of Education (DepEd) could fall short of its target to add more than 14,000 teachers next year if Congress does not restore funding for its recruitment program.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said Monday, September 7, that the department received no allocation for teacher hiring in the proposed 2027 national budget.
DepEd is set to receive P973.40 billion under the administration’s proposed P7.2-trillion National Expenditure Program, down from the P1.01 trillion allocated to the agency this year.
Funding sought for new teachers
Angara told lawmakers that DepEd had asked for an additional P49.16 billion for its personnel improvement program. Of this amount, P4.29 billion was intended to support the hiring of 14,274 Teacher I positions.
The education secretary said the funding request remains among the department’s priorities and expressed hope that Congress would restore it during the budget deliberations.
DepEd hired around 32,000 teachers this year, exceeding its typical annual hiring average of about 20,000, Angara noted.
The department is also seeking P16.64 billion for 39,428 Project Development Officer I positions and P10.52 billion for 14,126 School Principal I posts.
Watchdog questions centralized funds
The proposed budget structure has also drawn scrutiny from the Amplify Education Budget Initiative, which described some DepEd allocations as increasingly centralized.
The group said several programs that previously appeared as separate or region-specific items have been consolidated under the Central Office. These include funding for vouchers, inclusive education and school construction.
According to Amplify, the changes could make it more difficult for the public to track where funds will be spent and which projects will benefit from them.
It also warned that greater discretion over large pooled funds could weaken transparency, particularly with the 2028 elections approaching.
DepEd cites budget flexibility
Among the programs consolidated under the Government Assistance and Subsidies program are senior high school vouchers and the Educational Service Contracting program for junior high school students.
The combined allocation for the three programs is P38.1 billion for 2027.
Angara later said the consolidation was made to give DepEd more flexibility in managing its budget and responding to funding needs.
