The Department of Education (DepEd) has filled more than half of its 10,000 school counselor associate positions nationwide, as a shortage of licensed guidance counselors and a string of deadly campus shootings underscore the need for more mental health support in schools.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara led the oath-taking of 339 newly hired School Counselor Associate I personnel assigned to the National Capital Region in Makati City, crediting DepEd Undersecretary William Cabral after the latter had expedited the hiring of school counselor associates to fill the gaps in student support services.
Angara said the newly hired associates would help students deal with personal concerns and relationships with family members and teachers, going beyond career guidance.
“Not only career guidance but also personal problems, paano i-navigate ’yung kanilang student life, ’yung relasyon with faculty, with family,” he said.
“Sila ’yung mag-o-observe din kung merong mga bata na parang depressed o kaya naliligaw o kaya nararamdaman nila hindi sila parte ng komunidad,” Angara added.
Angara said the newly appointed associates would occupy regular plantilla positions under Salary Grade 11, rather than job-order posts, and could begin work as soon as possible following their oath-taking.
The hiring drive follows three deadly school shooting incidents reported since June, raising concerns about student safety and the capacity of schools to identify and respond to learners’ mental health needs.
In June, three students were killed in a shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City. Two people were killed in a shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University’s junior high school in August, while a shooting at Banga National High School in South Cotabato on 18 September also left multiple people dead.
Fewer than 1,000 registered guidance counselors serve DepEd’s more than 45,000 schools, according to figures cited by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM2). The country produces only about 300 registered guidance counseling graduates annually, limiting the supply of qualified professionals.
Unlike licensed guidance counselors, associates may qualify with a bachelor’s degree in guidance and counseling or psychology, or a related degree with at least 18 units in those fields, along with 200 hours of supervised practicum.
The lower entry requirements are intended to help expand the pool of personnel who can support school-based mental health services, but associates are not substitutes for licensed counselors.
DepEd had previously struggled to fill guidance counselor positions. Of 5,000 guidance counselor posts created in 2020, only about 1,000 had been filled, Cabral said in August.
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