Senators: Hiring of additional teachers critical in addressing PH learning crisis

Senator Joel Villanueva on Tuesday, May 20 welcomed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for opening 16,000 new teaching positions for public schools for school year 2025-2026 as this is critical in addressing the country's learning crisis.

- By HANNAH TORREGOZA

"We laud the DBM for authorizing the Department of Education (DepEd) to hire 16,000 additional teachers this year," Villanueva said in a statement.

"In a country where education is the linchpin of progress, hiring motivated and effective teachers has never been more critical," he said.

Villanueva said ensuring there is an adequate number of educators is essential to addressing the learning crisis—especially in light of recent findings that 18 million Filipinos are functionally illiterate.

"We have long advocated for the immediate filling of vacant government positions, noting that one in every ten remains unfilled. This is particularly urgent in the education sector," he said.