MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) is discussing with the Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Higher Education the easing of requirements for hiring guidance counselors, particularly the waiving of a master’s degree.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara brought up the “temporary solution” on Tuesday, August 13, to address the shortage of guidance counselors in the country. He said the DepEd is having a hard time filling the nearly 5,000 vacancies for the position due to the master’s degree requirement.
“Hindi na [dapat] kailangan iyong master’s degree. Bigyan sila ng palugit ng limang taon para makuha nila iyong necessary credentials,” Angara said.
(A master’s degree should no longer be immediately required. Give them a five-year grace period to obtain the necessary credentials.)
The education chief, a former legislator, said the law should be amended to get rid of the requirement altogether.
“Kasi nasa batas ‘yun eh. Eh ‘yun ang nagpapahirap dito…. Nakalagay na to be a licensed guidance counselor, you must have a master’s degree. So ang hirap no’n eh, ‘di ba? Kasi to be a teacher, you only need a bachelor’s degree, you don’t need a master’s degree,” Angara added.
(Because that’s what the law says. And that’s what’s making things difficult here. It states that to be a licensed guidance counselor, you must have a master’s degree. That’s really challenging, isn’t it? Because to be a teacher, you only need a bachelor’s degree, you don’t need a master’s degree.)
Aside from the master’s degree, guidance counselors also have to pass a licensure examination.
Despite the more stringent qualifications, entry-level guidance counselors only have Salary Grade 11, which is equivalent to a Teacher 1 designation earning P27,000.
Why this matters
Guidance counselors are badly needed in Philippine schools.
According to the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Philippines had the highest percentage of bullying among all participating countries and territories.
Second Congressional Commission on Education Executive Director Karol Yee said this finding is alarming because students “don’t feel safe and therefore could not concentrate on their studies.”
“We are the bullying capital of the world based on PISA because of the highest prevalence of bullying. The ones who do the work here, based on the Anti-Bullying Act as implemented, are the guidance counselors. But our vacancies in DepEd are almost 5,000,” Yee said. – Rappler.com