The Department of Education (DepEd) has slashed mandatory administrative submissions for teachers by 57%, part of a broader effort to ease their workload and allow them to dedicate more time to classroom teaching, particularly in foundational subjects like reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized that safeguarding instructional time remains a top priority under these reforms.
“Ang puno’t dulo nitong lahat ng mga reporma is to focus on teaching time, to get back to teaching time,” Angara said during a radio interview. “Sagrado ang teaching time. Ibig sabihin, yung oras ng teacher sa kanyang mga bata, sagrado ‘yon.”
Angara noted that educators have long been overburdened by administrative duties and required reports, which detract from actual instruction.
“Nowadays hindi na simple ang trabaho ng teacher, they are called upon to implement with the growth of large government,” Angara explained, pointing out that teachers were frequently tapped for non-teaching tasks linked to government initiatives like 4Ps, feeding programs, and TUPAD.
To address the burden, DepEd is hiring non-teaching staff—including administrative officers and project development officers—to take over non-instructional responsibilities and manage government program coordination.
Highlighting the impact on teacher well-being, Angara framed the reforms as an essential health and welfare measure.
“It’s a wellness issue rin for our teachers,” he added. “Let’s take care of our teachers. Let’s make sure may oras din sila.”
DepEd noted that recruitment for these support roles is currently ongoing as part of a sustained push to improve education quality nationwide.