admin 
Ni Estong Reyes
HINDI pa napupunan ng Department of Education (DepEd), sa pamumuno ni Vice President Sara Duterte, ang kakapusan ng guro sa public school system na umabot sa 89, 506 posisyon, ayon kay Senator Pia Cayetano, budget sponsor, ng ahensiya nitong Huwebes.
Sa ginanap na deliberasyon ng panukalang badyet ng DepEd sa 2024, sinabi ni Cayetano na nakatakdang kumalap ang ahensiya ng mahigit 20,000 bagong guro sa susunod na taon.
Aniya, nakalaan ang pondo sa Inputs to Basic Education program ng ahensiya sa halagang P5.6 billion.
“For School Year 2023-2024, only 3,352 teachers were hired out of 9,650 teachers that DepEd had committed to employ,” ani Cayetano.
Iginiit niya na tiwala ang DepEd na makakamit nila ang adhikain sa pagtatapos ng current school year sa July 2024.
“For 2023, the amount of P2.725 billion was in the GAA and this is meant to hire 9,650 new teaching positions,” ayon kay Cayetano.
“As to why only 3,352 have been hired, this is because the NOSCA or Notice of Staffing was only released in July… The hiring process is ongoing as we speak. DepEd assures us that they will be able to fill roughly 96% because that is their annual average…in filling the unfilled positions,” dagdag niya.
Kasabay nito, sinabi pa ni Cayetano hindi na interesado si Duterte sa P150 million confidential funds sa 2024 matapos umani ng pagbatikos sa halos lahat ng sektor bukod sa isinampang ng kaso sa Supreme Court.
