Marcos expands school counseling, promotions

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the government is expanding mental health services in public schools through the hiring of more counselors while accelerating career advancement opportunities for teachers.

Speaking at the mass oath-taking of Department of Education (DepEd) personnel in Dagupan City on Monday, Mr. Marcos said 234 school counselor associates in Pangasinan would help boost counseling and mental health support in schools.

“We also acknowledge the shortage of school counselors,” he said at the livestreamed event. “As we pay greater attention to the mental health of our youth, their role has become more crucial, more important than ever.”

The oath-taking covered 5,211 promoted teachers and school heads, as well as the newly hired counselors.

Mr. Marcos said DepEd’s expanded career progression system had reclassified more than 82,100 teachers and school heads nationwide, including more than 10,200 in Pangasinan.

“For one, we recognize that career advancement in public education has not always been easy,” he said. “For many years, teachers have had to wait a long time before moving from Teacher I to Teacher III, from Teacher III to Master Teacher I.”

He also highlighted efforts to reduce teachers’ administrative workload.

“We have reduced the paperwork required of our teachers from 174 forms to 75, with only five requiring regular completion,” Mr. Marcos said.

Earlier in the day, the government turned over 209 laptops to 10 public schools in Dagupan City. Seventy-two units were allocated to Dagupan City National High School, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

“These laptops will equip our school personnel with the tools that they need to carry out their duties more efficiently,” Mr. Marcos said.

The laptops were distributed under the DepEd Computerization Program and will be used for lesson preparation, development of instructional materials and classroom digital applications, the PCO said.

It added that the program includes teacher training and complements efforts to improve internet connectivity in public schools.

DepEd said on Nov. 3 that it had completed bidding for 172,654 Apple MacBook Neo laptops, including 169,008 units for teachers and 3,646 units for administrative personnel. The agency said deliveries are scheduled between November and March 2027.

Malacañang earlier said each laptop would cost about P43,000, or roughly P6,900 below the regular retail price, citing Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara.

DepEd has awarded contracts covering 231,725 laptops for teachers, including 62,717 Windows-based units.

Mr. Marcos has pledged to provide every public school teacher with a laptop before the end of his term in 2028.

However, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers said in August that the planned procurement of 250,000 units would still leave most public school teachers without laptops.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are finalizing a measure that would expand nutrition support for children through the proposed National Children’s Nutrition Act.

The Senate and House of Representatives convened a bicameral conference committee on Nov. 6 to reconcile differences between Senate Bill No. 2272 and House Bill No. 9466.

Under the proposal, all public school learners from Kindergarten to Grade 3 will receive universal school feeding, while undernourished pupils in Grades 4 to 6 will qualify for targeted assistance.

The measure will also provide supplemental feeding for children aged 2 to below 5 years old, strengthen nutrition monitoring and expand interventions against malnutrition and stunting.

“The problem is not merely about food scarcity,” Pasig City Rep. Roman T. Romulo, who heads the House Basic Education Committee, said in a statement. “It is about the long-term future of our children and the nation they will inherit.”

Supporters of the measure said improved nutrition, combined with stronger mental health support and better educational resources, could help improve learning outcomes and child development. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking and Pexcel John Bacon