Interim Strategies and Protocols on Teacher Hiring for School Year (SY) 2021–2022 in view of the COVID-19 Situation

MEMORANDUM DM-PHROD-2021-0091

Interim Strategies and Protocols on Teacher Hiring for School Year (SY) 2021–2022 in view of the COVID-19 Situation

18 February 2021

Pursuant to the Proclamation No. 922, s. 2020 Declaring a State of Public Health Emergency Throughout the Philippines and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) Resolution dated 14 January 2021 imposing and implementing the Community Quarantine (CQ) to all the Local Government Units (LGUs) across the country, the following actions are advised to be implemented by the DepEd field offices as not to hamper the teacher recruitment, selection, and placement (RSP) operations of the Department:

1. Applicable Guidelines for Teaching Positions in SY 2021-2022

a. Pending the official issuance of the new Agency Merit Selection Plan, the existing hiring guidelines for teaching positions in Kindergarten to Senior High School (SHS), as stipulated in the issuances enumerated below, shall remain effective until officially amended, revoked, rescinded, or modified through the issuance of a DepEd Order:

▪ DO No. 7, s. 2015, Hiring Guidelines for Teacher I Positions Effective School Year (SY) 2015-2016

▪ DO No. 22, s. 2015, Hiring Guidelines for the Remaining Teaching Positions Effective School Year (SY) 2015-2016

▪ DO No. 3, s. 2016, Hiring Guidelines for Senior High School (SHS) Teaching Positions Effective School Year (SY) 2016-2017

▪ DO No. 9, s. 2016, Reinforcement of DepEd Order Nos. 7 and 22, s. 2015 as the Hiring Guidelines for Kindergarten to Grade 10 Teaching Positions

▪ DO No. 32, s. 2016, Addendum to DepEd Order No. 3, s. 2016 (Hiring Guidelines for Senior High School [SHS] Teaching Positions Effective SY [SY] 2016-2017)

▪ DO No. 49, s. 2016, Guidelines on the Hiring of Contractual (Full-Time and Part-Time) Teachers in Senior High School

▪ DO No. 50, s. 2017, Hiring Guidelines for Teacher I Positions in Schools Implementing Indigenous Peoples Education Effective School Year 2016-2017

▪ DO No. 51, s. 2017, Amended Qualification Standards for Senior High School Teaching Positions in the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Track and Other Clarifications on the Hiring Guidelines

b. The Department, in collaboration with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), is currently revisiting the system of career progression of public school teachers, to include the policy guidelines on the reclassification of teaching positions, covering Senior High School positions. Subsequent policy on this regard shall be released.

2. Publication and Posting of Vacant Items and Transmittal of Action on Appointment

a. The Schools Division Offices (SDOs) shall coordinate with their Civil Service Commission Field Office (CSC-FO) counterparts in receiving their publication requests and transmittal of action on appointments in accordance with CSC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 14, s. 2020 or the Interim Guidelines on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions for the Period of State of Calamity due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

b. In areas with ECQ and MECQ, the SDOs may initially send the accomplished Civil Service (CS) Form Nos. 1, 2, or 9 to the official e-mail address of their respective CSCFO for appropriate action. Hard copies of the said documents shall be submitted as soon as the ECQ/MECQ is lifted.

3. Submission and Receipt of Applications

a. The SDOs shall provide clear instructions to teacher applicants in submitting their application documents. It is necessary to implement strict social distancing in receiving and validating hard copies of applications. The SDOs are highly encouraged to designate a separate area and provide disinfecting supplies (e.g. alcohol, sand sanitizer, etc.) where teacher applicants may be accommodated.

b. Insofar as practicable, the SDOs may organize online submission of documents of the applicants to minimize gathering of crowds in the physical offices.

c. Pursuant to the RA No. 8792 or the E-Commerce Act of 2000 which provides that “(e)lectronic documents shall have the legal effect, validity or enforceability as any other document or legal writing and a) (w)here the law requires a document to be in writing, that requirement is met by an electronic document if the said electronic document maintains its integrity and reliability and can be authenticated so as to be usable for subsequent reference,” online submission of electronic copies of the application documents may be allowed subject to the submission of the hard copies upon request for purposes of verification.

4. Selection Committee Panel Interview, Demonstration Teaching, and Deliberations

a. The SDOs under ECQ and MECQ areas shall implement other modalities in the conduct of applicants’ interview and demonstration teaching, and selection committee deliberations, such as online video conferencing and/or phone interviews. To maintain security and confidentiality in the said evaluative activities, it is highly encouraged to use secured platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Workplace by Facebook or Google Meet as recommended in the OUA Memorandum 00-0420-0042 dated 17 April 2020.

b. The SDOs under GCQ and MGCQ areas may proceed with the usual face-to-face process of interview, demonstration teaching, and deliberations; provided that stringent social distancing measures are strictly observed. However, SDOs are not precluded from adopting the recommended action in Item 3.a or a combination of face-to-face and alternative platforms.

5. Conduct of English Proficiency Test (EPT)

a. In reference to DM-CI-2020-060 dated 08 May 2020 or the Advisory on the Administration of English Proficiency Test (EPT) for Teacher-Applicants and Request for List of Testing Centers for Online Administration signed by Undersecretary Diosdado M. San Antonio, requests on the administration of the EPT shall be coordinated with Bureau of Education Assessment. Specific concerns, queries, and forms required in the administration of EPT shall be directed to BEA-Education Assessment Division (BEA-EAD) or through this email address: ead.bea@deped.gov.ph.

b. It should be noted, however, that the applicant’s inability to take EPT shall not be a ground for disqualification. No EPT result shall only mean no score under the EPT criterion set in DO Nos. 07 and 22, s. 2015, and DO No. 03, s. 2016. Henceforth, applicants who have met the cut-off score in spite of the absence of an EPT score shall still be included in the Registry of Qualified Applicants (RQA).

6. Establishment of the RQA for SY 2021-2022

a. In view of the one (1) year validity of the RQA, SDOs shall establish a new RQA for SY 2021-2022. SDOs may already commence the call for applications and undertake the recruitment and selection process to establish the RQA for SY 2021-2022 in anticipation of the newly-created teaching items to be deployed this year.

b. To expedite the recruitment and selection process as well as to augment the number of applicants in light of the COVID-19 situation, SDOs that have yet to exhaust the SY 2020-2021 RQA may consider the remaining qualified applicants; provided that said applicants should have expressed their intent to apply in SY 2021-2022 by submitting the following:

i. Letter of Intent in accordance with the SDO’s Call for Applications; and

ii. Updated credentials and application documents, if any. The points earned by the teacher applicants in the previous year’s RQA may be honored, unless they have presented new documents to update their points.

7. Renewal of Teachers with Provisional Appointments

a. As defined in Part IV Sec. 10 of CSC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 14, s. 2018 on the 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointment and Other Human Resource Actions (ORAOHRA), Revised 2018, a provisional appointment “shall not be effective beyond the school year during which it was issued,” or one (1) year or 12 months reckoned from the date of last appointment. The position held by the teacher-incumbent shall be deemed vacant upon expiration of the appointment; and therefore, be subjected to CSC rules and regulations on publication and posting. Renewal of a provisional appointment shall be effected only in the absence of a qualified LET eligible applicant, as certified by the SDS.

b. It is reiterated that pursuant to Part V(E) Item 7.c of DO No. 51, s. 2017, provisional teachers shall be entitled to the same compensation and allowances received by permanent personnel. Teachers with provisional appointments which are still effective during summer break shall be entitled to applicable compensation and allowances received by teachers during this period, including the mid-year bonus.

c. In view of the inquiries and appeals for the extension of the five (5)-year allowance period granted to non-LET passers hired in SHS positions under provisional status in accordance with the provision of Republic Act (RA) No. 10533 and Section 10 of the ORAOHRA, the Department is currently coordinating with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to allow them to take the 2021 LET examination given its pronouncement that retakers will not be allowed to take the test, and with the CSC inquiring the possible reappointment/renewal of appointment of those provisional teachers who were first hired SY 2016-2017; provided, that they provide proof that they have taken the LET at least once since 2016, and that they will re-take the LET in September 2021. DepEd will issue a separate memorandum disseminating the official feedback of the CSC and PRC on the matter.

This advisory of instructions is made in response to the concerns of the DepEd field offices that have been brought to the attention of this Office, particularly on the ways forward of hiring and selection of teachers for the coming SY 2021-2022 in light of the COVID-19 situation.

Appointing authorities/officers, members of the Human Resource Merit Promotion Selection Board (HRMPSB), and other RSP Implementors are hereby directed to implement the abovementioned action steps, but subject to the applicable hiring guidelines for teaching positions as enumerated herein.

Furthermore, while the Department seeks to continue work operations in these challenging times, the health and safety of both teacher applicants and RSP implementors must be given utmost priority and consideration.

For further queries and clarifications, please contact Human Resource Development Division of the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development (BHROD-HRDD) through Sarah Bilag and Ruby Chanda Jetomo-Crisostomo at sarah.bilag@deped.gov.ph. or ruby.jetomo@deped.gov.ph.

For guidance and appropriate action.

MEMORANDUM DM-PHROD-2021-0091

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