MANILA – Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has approved the creation of about 5,000 non-teaching positions in various schools supervised by the Department of Education (DepEd) nationwide.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DBM said the creation of new non-teaching positions would ensure adequate manpower and provide support to educators in giving quality instruction to learners.

The DBM said the 5,000 non-teaching items created consist of 3,500 Administrative Officer (AO) II and 1,500 Project Development Officer (PDO) I positions.

It said the AO II posts have been created to relieve teachers of administrative tasks that support operations, while PDO 1 positions would complement the AO II and other non-teaching school personnel by facilitating the implementation of various programs, projects and activities initiated by schools or mandated by the DepEd Central Office.

“AO II and PDO I positions are entitled to a basic salary of PHP27,000 (SG-11) based on the Fourth Tranche Monthly Salary Schedule for Civilian Personnel of the National Government,” the DBM said.

The department noted that the new items would be available in various school division offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Caraga, Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region and Soccsksargen.

“The appropriate funding requirements for the filled positions out of said created positions shall be charged against the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund in the FY (fiscal year) 2023 General Appropriations Act, while the Retirement and Life Insurance Premium is chargeable against Automatic Appropriations,” it said.

Pangandaman said hiring non-teaching staff would enable the educators to save “a lot of time and effort.”

“Malaking tulong po ito sa ating mga guro na ma-unload sila sa mga administrative work at maka-focus sa pagtuturo sa mga estudyante (This is a great help to our teachers to unload them from administrative work and focus on teaching students),” she said.

During his campaign for the 2022 presidential elections, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. noted that many teachers are experiencing fatigue and burnout because they are performing tasks that are not related to their job.

Marcos said reducing the non-teaching load of teachers would help maintain a high quality of education in public schools and protect their mental health. (PNA)