Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 3) – The Department of Education (DepEd) on Saturday said the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has approved the renewal of provisional appointment of senior high school (SHS) teachers for the current school year due to a lack of available qualified and licensed teachers.
According to CSC Resolution No. 2200353 dated August 18, the commission allowed the reappointment of SHS provisional teachers who were first hired in 2016 and 2017, provided they had taken the licensure examination at least once in the past five years.
“Dahil sa nagpapatuloy na pandemya, ang pangangasiwa ng LEPT (licensure examination for professional teachers) ay limitado, sa gayon ay naglilimita sa mga apektadong provisional teachers sa pagtanggap ng LEPT mula pa noong 2020,” DepEd said in a statement.
[Translation: Because of the ongoing pandemic, the administration of the LEPT was limited, affecting the provisional teachers who have not yet taken the exam since 2020.]
The government earlier allowed the hiring of unlicensed teachers for specialized subjects in SHS given that they will pass the board within five years.
DepEd asked the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the CSC last year to prioritize the appeal of provisional SHS teachers hired in 2016 to be accommodated in the licensure exam administration and be reappointed beyond the five-year allowable period.
The department also said it is coordinating with the PRC to accommodate provisional SHS teachers for the upcoming board exam this month.
Data from DepEd showed there were 74,056 public school teachers in the SHS level nationwide during school year 2020-2021, when the pandemic started. This is higher than the 36,788 teachers for the first school year of SHS level in 2016-2017.
