Published: January 26, 2024
To enhance the quality of basic education, the Department of Education (DepEd) has issued DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024, titled “Immediate Removal of Administrative Tasks of Public School Teachers.”
The issuance of this order aligns with DepEd’s MATATAG Agenda, emphasizing its commitment to improving the delivery of quality basic education while prioritizing the welfare and quality of teachers. The directive aims to create an environment conducive to effective teaching and learning.
The rationale behind this decision is embedded in the belief that the core of quality education lies in a vibrant and high-quality teaching workforce. Reports and studies have indicated that public school teachers are burdened with numerous administrative tasks, diverting their attention from their primary role of teaching. The 2018 Teacher Workload Balance Study identified approximately fifty common ancillary services assigned to teachers in addition to their regular teaching load.
To address this issue, DepEd’s Order aims to remove non-teaching tasks, enabling teachers to focus on actual classroom instruction. The removal of administrative duties is expected to contribute to a more conducive teaching environment, ultimately benefiting both teachers and students.
The scope of this order covers all DepEd-employed teachers engaged in full-time classroom teaching, including those under permanent, provisional, or substitute status in public elementary and secondary schools at all governance levels.
The policy statement emphasizes the objective of enabling teachers to concentrate on teaching by removing administrative tasks. This move ensures that teachers’ workload and working hours are optimized for actual classroom instruction and tasks directly related to their teaching duties.
The guidelines and procedures outline the removal of administrative tasks, assigning responsibility to School Heads and non-teaching personnel. The order also introduces measures to address staffing requirements, including clustering deployed non-teaching personnel and hiring personnel under Contract of Service (COS) or Job Order (JO).
Source: (excerpt: DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024: Immediate Removal of Administrative Tasks of Public School Teachers )
V. GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
A. Removal of Administrative Tasks
l. Administrative tasks shall be removed from the workload of teachers, without prejudice to the teacher ancillary tasks as defined by other DepEd issuances. Accordingly, School Heads and non-teaching personnel shall have the sole responsibility to perform the administrative tasks enumerated hereunder. These tasks shall include, but are not limited to the following:
- a. Personnel Administration
- b. Property/Physical Facilities Custodianship
- c. General Administrative Support
- d. Financial Management
- e. Records Management
- f. Program Management
- i. Feeding
- ii. School DRRM
- iii. Other related programs
To provide guidance, the Office of the Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development (OUHROD) will furnish necessary tools and procedures through a strand Memorandum. The tools and procedures will be subject to periodic review and adjustments by OUHROD as necessary.
Roles and responsibilities are defined for Central Office, Regional Offices, Schools Division Offices and individual schools to ensure the effective implementation of the order. A grievance mechanism is also established to address concerns and violations arising from the policy’s implementation.
The Department of Education, through the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development (BHROD), will monitor, evaluate and review the policy’s implementation. The decentralization approach empowers field offices in monitoring and evaluating policy implementation and providing technical assistance.
To facilitate a smooth transition, the order includes a transitory provision outlining clustering strategies for schools without non-teaching personnel and the deployment of administrative support personnel. The effective implementation of this order is expected within sixty (60) calendar days.
This DepEd Order takes effect immediately upon approval, issuance and publication on the DepEd website. Certified copies will be registered with the Office of the National Administrative Register (ONAR) at the University of the Philippines Law Center (UP LC), UP Diliman, Quezon City. Immediate dissemination and strict compliance with this order are directed.
Source: (DepEd Order No. 002, s. 2024: Immediate Removal of Administrative Tasks of Public School Teachers )
