DBM OKs 10,000 non-teaching personnel hiring to ease teachers’ workload

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the creation of 10,000 non-teaching positions on May 23 to be deployed across public elementary and secondary schools nationwide beginning school year 2025–2026.

Senator Joel Villanueva welcomed the move, calling it a “step in the right direction” toward easing the administrative burden on public school teachers.

“The hiring of 10,000 non-teaching positions is a step in the right direction for the education sector,” Villanueva said in a statement.

The DBM is acting on a prior decision to create 20,000 new teaching positions, as outlined in the Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 2, s. 2024, which mandates the removal of administrative responsibilities from teachers.

This effort intends to free public school teachers from admin-related duties, allowing them to focus on education and improving student learning.

Villanueva highlighted that many teachers have been burdened for a long time with non-instructional duties that are not related to classroom teaching.

“The need for additional personnel has long been called for by our teachers saddled with non-teaching tasks,” he stressed.

He referenced findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM2), which disclosed that teachers take on more than 50 additional tasks, such as managing canteens and school feeding programs.

Villanueva cautioned that these extra responsibilities have negatively impacted classroom performance and learning outcomes.

“These responsibilities have also significantly impeded upon their primary job of teaching,” Villanueva noted.

He emphasized that relieving teachers of these tasks would allow them to concentrate more on addressing the nation's learning crisis.

Villanueva also highlighted the necessity of filling tens of thousands of vacant positions in DepEd.

“We have consistently pushed to fill vacant positions in government,” he said, citing 47,546 unfilled DepEd posts based on the 2025 staffing summary.

He said the recent hiring decisions reflect the government’s effort to listen and respond to the needs of both teachers and students.

“The recent hiring announcements show the government is listening to the teacher and student woes, and are trying to make things right,” Villanueva added.