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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Teachers’ shortage hits state universities, colleges

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The Department of Budget and Management  has to create more plantilla positions for full-time faculty of State Universities and Colleges so these can meet the  shortage of 17,057 teaching staff, improve performance and delivery of quality education and become competitive.

This was the call issued by Rep. Roman T. Romulo (Lone District, Pasig City), chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, who said the estimated shortage of faculty in SUCs is based on the 2014 survey of the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges.

“PASUC has estimated that the creation of the much-needed faculty plantilla items will require approximately P5.5 billion ,” he said.

PASUC, according to Romulo, also cited that no additional plantilla items have been given by the DBM to SUCs for the last 15 years and because of this, the SUCs have utilized the “scrap and build policy” of the DBM.

He said Presidential Decree No. 985, otherwise known as the “Budgetary Reform Decree on Compensation and Position Classification of 1976” issued on August 22, 1976, is reportedly still being used as basis for the present plantilla positions of SUCs.

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“The quality of SUCs is defined mainly by the quality of their faculty. Most SUCs have a faculty-to-student ratio of 1:42 which is higher than the standard faculty-to-student ratio of 1:25,” said Romulo.

Romulo sought the creation of additional plantilla positions for full-time SUCs faulty through House Resolution 1659, which is now pending at the Committee on Appropriations chaired by Rep. Isidro T. Ungab (3rd District, Davao City).

Romulo said the shortage of plantilla positions has compelled SUCs teachers to devote most of their time and attention to instruction to the detriment of research and extension programs of the SUCs, which is another reason why these institutions lag behind other higher education institutions in Asia in terms of performance and quality.

“In Region II alone, 95.60% of the 1,911 college faculty are involved in higher education programs, 28 or 1.47% of which are involved in both advanced higher education and extension, and only less than one percent are involved in research and auxiliary services,” he said.

The situation is worsened by the addition of new courses by the SUCs to meet the demands of the education sector because the new course offerings are not supported by the creation of corresponding plantilla positions, according to him.

`“Faculty members are given administrative positions to govern and manage the university affairs along with academic, extension, research and production programs of SUCs,” said Romulo.

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