Philippine lawmakers on Monday raised concerns over the shortage of guidance counselors in public schools, as the Department of Education (DepEd) reported that about half of the 10,000 school counselor associate positions created for 2026 have reached the appointment stage.

DepEd Director Dexter A. Galban told the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture that the remaining positions were at various stages of recruitment, with some applicants already interviewed and their documents under review. He said the department was prioritizing highly urbanized areas and large schools, where bullying cases require additional support for teachers and students.

Pasig Rep. Roman T. Romulo, who chairs the committee, said the positions were created to address the shortage of registered guidance counselors, whose qualifications include professional registration and a master’s degree. When Congress passed the law creating the school counselor associate position, he noted, the country had only 5,001 registered guidance counselors even though DepEd operates approximately 47,000 schools — a ratio of roughly one registered counselor for every nine schools.

“In truth, there is a real shortage of RGCs (registered guidance counselors) across the entire Philippines,” Mr. Romulo said in Filipino.

Under the new arrangement, college graduates with at least 18 units in behavioral science and the required training may qualify as school counselor associates without initially being registered guidance counselors, he said. The relaxed entry requirements broaden the pool of candidates DepEd can hire into the new roles, even as full professional registration remains the standard for registered guidance counselors. Mr. Romulo added that DepEd had committed during a committee meeting to fill the positions by December, although recruitment would need to comply with Civil Service Commission qualification standards.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Roger B. Masapol, for his part, said the department was training teaching and non-teaching personnel to recognize behavioral warning signs among students and to identify those who may need intervention. He said DepEd was also preparing a nationwide mental health caravan with the National Center for Mental Health.

Following shooting incidents in Tacloban, Zamboanga and Cotabato, the department mobilized trained psychological first-aid providers with assistance from the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, he said. Some teachers have continued to experience fear since the incidents, while some students have been reluctant to return to school.

The department is likewise strengthening parental involvement through its Kaagapay program, which aims to help parents better understand their children’s behavior, including their online activities.

The December commitment gives the committee a near-term measure of whether the remaining associate posts clear recruitment and appointment, while the planned caravan and the Kaagapay rollout indicate how DepEd’s wider student support efforts develop alongside the new counseling roles.

— Pexcel John Bacon

Source: BusinessWorld