Exodus of teachers alarms DepEd; Education cluster formed

[Mike J]

Not sure the word "education cluster" was the best choice for the new program. 

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/exodus-of-teachers-alarms-deped-education-cluster-formed/ar-AA1oLRrf?cvid=57c6c47e84b94915da7c5d2dde3ee007&ei=16

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) is keeping a close watch on reports of public school teachers leaving for job opportunities abroad, thereby increasing the teacher shortage in the country.

In that regard, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara noted the newly established Cabinet cluster on education that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself announced on Tuesday.

“I’ve greenlit the creation of an Education Cluster to develop a common agenda, ensuring that the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) unite to close learning gaps and drive much-needed reforms in our education system,” the President said on his Facebook account, following a sectoral meeting at Malacañang on Tuesday morning.

Angara said Marcos understood the urgency of addressing the “very deep-seated problems” in the education sector.

“He knows an Education Cluster is needed. But he doesn’t want to stop with the cluster because it is just a coordinating mechanism,” the DepEd chief said in a Palace press briefing later on Tuesday.

‘Study tours’
While he did not cite data on the exodus of teachers, Angara noted that “the destinations do not involve the [United States] but other countries as well, so we will definitely pay close attention to this by looking at the factors that make the teachers leave.”

“It’s a real problem. I have received reports that many schools overseas invite our teachers for so-called study tours. The problem with these tours, however, is that many of the invited teachers no longer come back,” he added.
From 2011 to 2017, around 1,500 teachers left the country annually to work abroad, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Many of these teachers moved to China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan and Thailand.

READ: DepEd orders immediate removal of admin tasks from teachers’ workload

According to DepEd, the overall number of public school teachers as of the school year 2020-2021 is 876,842. Of that total, 514,099 are grade school teachers, 288,687 teach junior high school, and 74,056 teach senior high.

To reach the ideal class size of 35 students, DepEd should hire 25,000 teachers annually until 2028, according to Alliance of Concerned Teachers chair Vladimer Quetua.

Education cluster
These are among the factors that the new Education Cluster will tackle, Angara said.

The cluster will be composed of the DepEd, CHEd, Tesda, the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Department of Budget and Management. The Department of Social Welfare and Development will be part of the cluster’s technical working groups.

It was the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II) that proposed the cluster.

“All of the agencies are doing their respective jobs, but they do it independent of one another with no mechanism of coordination, of making sure that the plans come together and they deliver an integrated system of education,” Edcom II executive director Karol Mark Yee said.

PH students among loneliest
Angara said the cluster would also tackle the country’s need for guidance counselors, as he cited a study by the Programme for International Student Assessment showing that the Philippines has the highest prevalence of bullying in schools.

Filipino students are also rated as among the loneliest, the DepEd chief said.

“Based on the Anti-Bullying Act, this matter is the concern of guidance counselors. But in DepEd, we have about 5,000 vacant positions for guidance counselors but there are no takers,” he said.

The Philippine Business for Education hailed the creation of the cluster, saying, “We believe this Cabinet cluster and the appointment of an education czar can set the motion for the much-needed long-term vision and plan for education and human capital development of the country.”

[scott h]

24 minutes ago, Mike J said:

education cluster

Newfangled word for "committee" without the negative connotations. 

But it is obvious what the problem is. Money! When licensed Doctors move overseas to work as nurses, these young folks who most likely speak passible English and will work for peanuts without complaint............the brain drain continues!

 

[Tommy T.]

L, a junior high teacher, has told me that for every working teacher here in P.I., there are at least 10 more qualified teachers waiting for a teaching job.

At one point, I asked her why they don't all go on strike for higher wages? She replied that there are so many trained (but not necessarily qualified new teachers) that DepEd could simply and easily replace them all. Think about that!

I recently looked up some stats in USA. An average teacher's pay in USA can be in the range of $35-$75k. Compare that to the highest pay range of teachers here @ ~$10k or less annually... Go figure. What would you do if in the same or similar situation?

Edited August 14 by Tommy T.

[graham59]

I got halfway through that gobbledegook nonsense, then turned to my cellphone, just as most of the teachers and pupils are probably doing right now. 

Get the phones out of schools COMPLETELY, then start to teach the kids some maths, English, and science/technology... PROPERLY. No extra funds required. 

Also, to not throw to their damned litter everywhere ! 

[graham59]

12 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

An average teacher's pay in USA can be in the range of $35-$75k. Compare that to the highest pay range of teachers here @ ~$10k or less annually... Go figure. What would you do if in the same or similar situation?

I very much doubt the Filipino teachers are anywhere near qualified enough to TEACH in most western countries. (Perhaps okay to be used as cheap teachers of 'English' in some SEA countries...yes, but that's all).

[OnMyWay]

On 8/15/2024 at 6:47 AM, scott h said:

Newfangled word for "committee" without the negative connotations. 

I thought it was an abbreviation?  Clusterf*ck.

[craftbeerlover]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I thought it was an abbreviation?  Clusterf*ck.

I was having a very hard time reading it without including that

[JJReyes]

On 8/15/2024 at 5:21 AM, graham59 said:

I very much doubt the Filipino teachers are anywhere near qualified enough to TEACH in most western countries. (Perhaps okay to be used as cheap teachers of 'English' in some SEA countries...yes, but that's all).

Not accurate.  There are thousands of highly qualified teachers from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, etc. teaching in US public schools under a special visa program.  The schools are mostly in remote, rural areas such as Indian reservations.  School administrators encounter extreme difficulties hiring young, new teachers.  No social life.  Schools cover the extra cost for recruiting from overseas, visa processing, agency fees, and transportation through federal subsidies.  Foreign teachers excel in teaching mathematics and science.  Recruiting qualified American teachers for these subjects is increasingly difficult.  School districts in Texas and others are also recruiting foreign teachers.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

There are thousands of highly qualified teachers from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, etc. teaching in US public schools under a special visa program.

And I would think many of them are more qualified to teach our kids than some of crap they allow near kids recently.

 

[MikeB]

2 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Not accurate.  There are thousands of highly qualified teachers from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, etc. teaching in US public schools under a special visa program.  The schools are mostly in remote, rural areas such as Indian reservations.  School administrators encounter extreme difficulties hiring young, new teachers.  No social life.  Schools cover the extra cost for recruiting from overseas, visa processing, agency fees, and transportation through federal subsidies.  Foreign teachers excel in teaching mathematics and science.  Recruiting qualified American teachers for these subjects is increasingly difficult.  School districts in Texas and others are also recruiting foreign teachers.

It's called a J-1 Visa for Teachers. My wife's older sister has worked for many years in education in the phils, she is an elementary school principal and teaches p/t at the university. Supposedly has a doctorate. The Florida DOE is involved in the program, we are following up on this. You can get a 3 year visa and extend for 2 more if approved. People in the US aren't going into teaching as they were in past, during and after covid there were resignations in droves. A lot were near retirement anyway. Critical shortage everywhere.