ARMM hires over 1,000 new teachers for school year 2014-2015

 

By Noel Y. Punzalan

COTABATO CITY, May 18 (PNA) -- To address teaching gaps ahead of the upcoming 2014-2015 school year, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) hired more than 1,000 new teachers, officials said.

ARMM Education secretary Jamar Kulayan said 903 new teachers took oath en masse Friday and will be assigned to permanent teaching slots in at least 1,364 different schools in ARMM’s mainland provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur and city of Marawi.

Of the 903 new appointments, 505 will be deployed in Maguindanao, 325 in Lanao del Sur and 78 in Marawi City.

Eighty nine percent or 797 of the sworn-in teachers are women.

Kulayan said 450 others will take oath on May 30 in Zamboanga City and will be assigned to schools in the island provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.

All 1,353 newly-hired teachers have passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) and underwent screening process by ARMM’s Department of Education (DepEd) in considering applicants for teaching positions.

Kulayan said they opted to hold a mass oath taking ceremony to boost the morale of the teachers and solemnize their commitment to the profession.

The newly-hired teachers will join the 23,000 educators in ARMM.

Meanwhile, Mubarak Pandi, DepEd regional information officer, said there are still around 2,645 teaching posts for the region to be filled this 2014.

“We are optimistic these vacancies will soon be filled before the year ends, with the massive turn-out of new teaching aspirants undergoing Teachers Assessment and Competency Exam (TACE),” Pandi said.

TACE, an innovation in the screening process ensures competency and aptitude of new recruits. It involves set of paper examinations, panel interviews and teaching demos to rank qualified applicants as to hiring priorities.

The present ARMM leadership puts premium on improving the quality of education in the region starting with the hiring of qualified and competent educators. (PNA)
CTB/NYP