A move that will both meet classroom needs and ease the workload of teachers in public schools nationwide, according to the education department.
According to Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara, a total of 32,916 new teaching positions have been approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the upcoming School Year 2026–2027.
These positions will be assigned to various levels in basic education, including Kindergarten, Elementary, Junior High School (JHS), and Senior High School (SHS), as well as the Alternative Learning System (ALS).
“Through the strong support of President Bongbong Marcos and the DBM under Acting Secretary Rolando Toledo, our request for these critical items has been granted, fundamentally expanding our teaching force so that our educators can focus on what they do best—nurturing the minds of our learners,” Angara said.
The DepEd noted that it formally requested these massive number of additional teaching positions as a permanent solution to reduce the student-teacher ratio and improve teaching in classrooms.
The newly created items consist of 32,047 positions for Teacher I; 369 positions for Teacher III or Special Science Teacher I; and 500 positions for Teacher IV for Special Needs Education (SNED) for students in special programs.
Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX) will receive the highest allocation with a total of 3,361 teaching positions open. This is followed by Central Luzon (Region III) with 2,722; Calabarzon (Region IV-A) with 2,644; Central Visayas (Region VII) with 2,586; and Northern Mindanao (Region X) with 2,541.
Under the current policy, DBM Regional Offices will directly issue the corresponding Notice of Organization, Staffing, and Compensation Actions (NOSCAs) to the Schools Division Offices for Elementary, SHS, and ALS positions.
Meanwhile, NOSCAs for JHS positions will be sent directly to the implementing units.
Aside from this, the DepEd continues to implement the Expanded Career Progression (ECP) system that allows teachers and school leaders to be provided with a clear and orderly career pathway from entry-level positions to higher teaching and school administration roles.
That initiative addresses career stagnation in the public school system and provide teachers with broader opportunities for professional growth and career advancement.
The DepEd chief stressed, “This is a critical step in giving our schools the structural support they need to deliver quality education.”