The Philippine government is seeking to hire more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to overcome the looming shortage of licensed teachers in the Department of Education (DepEd).
Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello has urged more qualified OFWs to avail of the ‘Sa Pinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am/Sir’ (SPIMS) program, which will provide more manpower to DepEd for its K to 12 program, reported Manila Bulletin.
DepEd had earlier said it will need an additional 65,000 personnel for Grade 12 classes this June, the report said.
Bello reportedly said SPIMS has already contributed to the previous manpower needs of DepEd since it implemented its K to 12 basic education program last year.
“The program has helped ease the country’s insufficient supply of public school teachers, especially in the provinces and remote areas in the country,” Bello was quoted as saying.
SPIMS is a joint reintegration project of DepEd aimed to enticing OFWs, who already passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), to work as public school teachers.
Aside from helping DepEd, Bello said SPIMS will allow OFWs to finally work in the country and be with their families.
“We are glad for the beneficiaries because they are already back for good, closer to their families and loved ones and they now have regular teaching positions in their respective hometowns,” Manila Bulletin quoted Bello as saying.
According to data from the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), a total of 275 SPIMS beneficiaries have already passed necessary screening as of November last year.
The number of SPIM beneficiaries is expected to further increase this year as more OFWs have expressed interest in applying for the program, the report said.
