DepEd: Let teachers focus on classroom duties

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) has warned officials and personnel of administrative repercussions for requiring teachers to perform “unnecessary tasks” that distract them from teaching functions.

In a memorandum dated Jan. 4, DepEd reminded all officials of regional and division offices as well as superintendents and public school supervisors to refrain from “requiring unnecessary tasks from the teachers.”a

This was after DepEd received a report in November that some teachers were ordered to prepare or fill out templates for the assessment of programs, projects and activities when these should have been accomplished by personnel of regional or school division offices.

“In view of the foregoing, all Regional Directors are requested to remind the chiefs of the functional divisions within the regional and division offices including the superintendents and public schools district supervisors to refrain from requiring unnecessary tasks from the teachers,” the memorandum read.

“This is for the purpose of enabling teachers to focus and maximize their time in performing teaching functions,” it added.

DepEd cited various laws and policies to support the prohibition, such as the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers and several other DepEd orders and memoranda on the deployment and assignment of public school teachers and guidelines on the working hours of public school teachers.

“Any DepEd personnel who will violate any provisions of these policies shall be dealt with administratively pursuant to DO No. 49, s. 2006, otherwise known as the Revised Rules of Procedure of the Department of Education in Administrative Cases without prejudice to other legal remedies available to the government,” DepEd said.