DepEd says no funds allocated for para-teachers or tutors for distance learning

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On Tuesday, at the House of Representatives hearing on the department's budget next year, the Department of Education (DepEd) said that it has not allocated funds for the hiring of para-teachers or tutors for distance learning in the proposed 2021 national budget.

The question [of] whether there is a 2021 budget line item on the hiring [of para-teachers], there is none. What we have is the creation of the regular teaching positions and that’s what we are planning to do next year,

said Education Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla.

Sevilla said funding was allocated for hiring for regular teaching positions. In earlier reports, DepED annouced its plan to hire 10,000 teachers next year.

Education Undersecretary Jesus Mateo explained that its draft policy on learner support aides is still being finalized.

He said it was up to the school division offices to hire para-teachers, which would help parents in facilitating the studies of learners at home. As for the fund source for para-teachers the Schools' Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses and the Special Education Fund of local government may be used.

Basically what it says is that schools division offices knowing the context by which they are operating are allowed to hire learner support aides to help the parents as well as the guardians to ensure that children will continue,

Mateo said.

Months earlier, the department already annouced its intensions on hiring para-teachers and volunteer teachers to tutor learners as part of this year’s blended learning approach. DepEd acknowledged that not all parents are capable of teaching their children, who will be learning at home in the coming school year since face-to-face classes remain prohibited. To address that, the idea of hiring para-teachers came as a solution.

The number of para-teachers and volunteer teachers to be recruited will largely depend on the need. Education officials earlier said they may also hire displaced private school teachers as para-teachers.