More than half of PH public schools lack qualified principals

[Lee]

Quote

 

MANILA, Philippines — More than 24,000 public schools across the country are operating without qualified principals due to low passing rates in the exams needed for the position and a hiring policy of the Department of Education (DepEd) that is now considered outdated.

This is one of the latest findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) in its ongoing evaluation of the sector.

Latest DepEd data show that of the 45,918 public schools nationwide, only 20,718—or 45 percent—have principals who had passed the qualifying exams for the position.

Low passing rates

There are also at least 5,904 exam takers who have yet to be promoted even after passing the National Qualifying Examinations for School Heads (NQESH) in 2021 and 2023.

Also called the Principals’ Test, NQESH is a compulsory exam for aspiring principals and assistant principals.

But the historically low passing rates in the NQESH also explain the big sad picture.

Only 36 percent and 26 percent of the examinees made the cut in the 2021 and 2023 tests, respectively.

The Edcom report also noted the dismal passing rates in 2018 (0.68 percent), 2017 (25 percent) and 2016 (2 percent).

‘Are you not panicking?’

There were no NQESH given in 2019, 2020 and 2022.

The latest Edcom findings also brought to light the effects of a 1997 policy that limits the hiring of principals based on the number of teaching personnel per school.

Edcom members expressed alarm over the figures during a hearing held on Friday with education officials and stakeholders.

“We are severely short of principals. Are you not panicking?” Pasig City Rep. and Edcom cochair Roman Romulo told the DepEd officials, as quoted in an Edcom statement released on Friday night.

Education Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral said the agency was in the process of revising the parameters set in 1997, wherein principals may be appointed only in public schools with at least nine teachers for elementary and six teachers for high school.

Those with fewer teaching personnel are administered only by “teachers-in-charge” who, Cabral said, “often lack standardized training and support.”

These “school staffing standards” remain in effect to this day, he added.

DepEd is currently drawing up a new policy that will target a ratio of one principal per school, but this ideal will require ample funding, Cabral said.

“We are currently finalizing the new standards, with the help of Edcom, since it will have budget implications,” he added.

Another DepEd policy that needs to be reviewed is Department Order No. 7 that was issued in 1999, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the Edcom chair.

Under the DO, school heads are reassigned to another school every three to five years.

Any change to be implemented in policies concerning principals should consider its effects on the students’ learning environment, said Edcom Executive Director Karol Yee.

“Our own consultations show that school heads have a profound impact on teacher behavior, teamwork, job satisfaction and student learning,” Yee said.

“In many schools we visited, it was clear that one of the main factors to improve the quality of education is having a good school principal.”

 

More than half of PH public schools lack qualified principals

[craftbeerlover]

13 minutes ago, Lee said:

More than half of PH public schools lack qualified principals

Some of you may feel I am a curmudgeon for denigrating the Philippines, but in a nutshell, this is the reason.  The country is ignorant and the statistics prove it.  It angers and saddens me, as I have many relatives going to school here, and will soon have a son entering into the country's "education" system.  There is a reason for all the inefficiencies, laziness, corruption etc etc etc., and it lies in the fact that very very very very few in this country are even educated at just a high school level.    I hope to God that this issue is finally being addressed.  It really pisses me off

[Lee]

IMO family apathy also figures into mix . 

I have noted that this goes from one generation to the next and no amount of counseling/encouragement changes anything.

[JJReyes]

A primary mistake made by the Department of Education is the belief that a school principal must first be an educator.  The position is really administrator, or more accurately, business administrator.  The number of potential qualified candidates for this position increases if they change the definition.  

[craftbeerlover]

14 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

A primary mistake made by the Department of Education is the belief that a school principal must first be an educator. 

That is not even the top of the iceberg.  The mere fact that a majority of principals cannot even pass the test to become a principal is really a symptom and not the cause.  Of course it then becomes part of the problem.   "PISA indicate that Filipino students (15 years old) are 5 to 6 years behind in reading, mathematics, and science compared to students from 81 other countries."  "PH ranks last among 58 countries in Grade 4 math, science"   This translates to a vast majority of kids graduating high school at a 6th or 7th grade education level, and I am sure many even less than that.   It is difficult to even wrap ones brain around those two statistics.   And why shouldnt one of the requirements be having an education/teaching background?   Seems pretty logical to me. 

Edited November 10 by craftbeerlover

[scott h]

8 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

The position is really administrator, or more accurately, business administrator.

IMO you are way off on this one JJ. By your way of thinking, Dwight D. Eisenhower did not have to be a soldier in order to command the D-Day invasion. After all, since he did not pull a trigger and was only in charge of the administration of fighting the war any politician or bean counter could have been in charge. Should chief of police need to have been a street cop first? There is a lot to be said in the old saying of "Walk a mile in my shoes, before you tell me they don't fit".

But I must admit I am biased on this subject. My Dad was a High School principal. He started out as a PE teacher, then went to night school, got his master's degree, became a Vice Principle then a principle. Needless to say, I grew up among High School principals and they were all teachers first. 

[Lee]

4 hours ago, Lee said:

Another DepEd policy that needs to be reviewed is Department Order No. 7 that was issued in 1999, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the Edcom chair.

Under the DO, school heads are reassigned to another school every three to five years.

This policy is probably not very helpful either when trying to attract more principals.

[Possum]

The education system is screwed up . The lack of qualified principles and the idiotic requirement they be reassigned 3-5 years is just another indication of this as well as the lack of education of the rule makers.

3 hours ago we were told no school tomorrow due to weather, Signal 1 which means it is going to rain.

Most students lose a days education. Our daughter's school has the students stay longer on Fridays until the lost time is made up. That makes the mayor cancelling school simply because it is going to rain even more annoying.

My wife having spent some time in South Florida during the rainy season mentioned that every afternoon it's Signal 2 or 3 at least but school goes on. Funny but true.

[Joey G]

They are stuck on "testing" everything.  It's leadership job, but they are treating it like entry level nurse exam.   A test at this level is just more administrative smoke and mirrors and does nothing but force people to figure out how to "pass the test", rather than whether they have the experience, personality, and leadership to be a principal.  

My daughter is a principal the USA... school is doing great... she never took a "test" to get the job. Yes, she did pass a test when she first became a teacher. For the principal position... Interview, you bet... competitive, you bet... review and evaluation annually for performance, absolutely... can she be fired is she underperforms, yes.  That's how leadership positions work in most of the world.

[Old55]

13 hours ago, craftbeerlover said:

Some of you may feel I am a curmudgeon for denigrating the Philippines, but in a nutshell, this is the reason.  The country is ignorant and the statistics prove it.  It angers and saddens me, as I have many relatives going to school here, and will soon have a son entering into the country's "education" system.  There is a reason for all the inefficiencies, laziness, corruption etc etc etc., and it lies in the fact that very very very very few in this country are even educated at just a high school level.    I hope to God that this issue is finally being addressed.  It really pisses me off

Absolutely agree with you Craftbeerlover.

I'm mad as hell the elite families continue to sabotage the public educational institutions in order to better rule Filipinos.