The Department of Education (DepEd) releases DM-PHRODFO-2020-00180 dated May 29, 2020, entitled Additional Instructions on Teacher Hiring in View of the COVID-19 Situation, signed by DepEd Undersecretary Jesus L.R. Mateo.
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Additional Instructions on Teacher Hiring in View of the COVID-19 Situation
Pursuant to Executive Order No. 112 dated 30 April 2020 and Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF) Resolution No. 30 dated 29 April 2020 imposing and implementing the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and General Community Quarantine (GCQ) in all Local Government Units (LGUs) across the country, concerned DepEd field offices are advised to implement the following actions so as not to hamper the teacher recruitment, selection, and placement (RSP) operations of the Department:
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 the receipt of their publication requests and transmittal of action on appointments.
b. In areas with ECQ, 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 CSC-FO for appropriate action. Hard copies of the said documents shall be submitted as soon as the ECQ is lifted.
c. As consulted, the CSC Central Office (CO) has yet to issue an official interim policy on the publication and posting of vacant items and process on the transmittal of action on appointment in line with the extension of the ECQ. These protocols are subject to change in accordance with CSC issuances that may be released subsequently.
Submission and Receipt of Applications
a. The SDOs shall provide clear instructions to teacher applicants on the submission of application documents. Stringent physical distancing measures shall be observed 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, and sanitizer) where teacher applicants may be accommodated.
b. Insofar as practicable, the SDOs may organize online submission of documents by the applicants to prevent gathering of crowds in the physical offices.
Selection Committee Panel Interview, Demonstration Teaching, and Deliberations
a. The SDOs under ECQ 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 secure platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Workplace by Facebook or Google Meet as recommended in OU A Memorandum 00-0420-0042 dated 17 April 2020.
b. The SDOs under GCQ areas may proceed with the usual face-to-face process of interview, demonstration teaching, and deliberations; provided that stringent physical 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.
Conduct of English Proficiency Test (EPT)
a. In accordance with the Advisory on the Administration of English Proficiency Test (EPT) for Teacher-Applicants and Request for List of Testing Centers for Online Administration (DM-CI-2020-060) signed by Undersecretary Diosdado M. San Antonio dated 8 May 2020, the administration of the paper and pencil-based EPT will resume once the ECQ in the National Capital Region (NCR) is lifted, and approval is granted. Priority shall be given to SDOs with EPT administration schedules prior to the ECQ, should they opt to proceed with the paper and pencil-based assessment.
b. The Bureau of Education Assessment (BEA) is coordinating with the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS) in developing an online platform to cater alternative modalities for EPT administration. Further announcement/s shall be made separately for this purpose.
In the meantime, compliance with the request to submit the list of schools that can serve as testing centers for an online examination, as directed in DM-CI-2020-060, is reiterated.
c. It should be noted, however, that the applicant’s inability to take EPT shall not be a ground for their disqualification. No EPT result shall only mean no score under the EPT criterion set in DepEd Order (DO) Nos. 7 and 22, s. 2015, and DO No. 3, 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).
Establishment of the RQA for SY 2020-2021
a. For SDOs that are unable to commence their teacher hiring and selection activities, they may exhaust the previous SY’s RQA, and select among the remaining qualified applicants for purposes of filling-up vacant positions that may occur in SY 2020-2021.
The previous SY’s RQA being referred to are the following:
For Elementary and Junior High School (by area of specialization):
i. SY 2019-2020 RQA established using DO 7, s. 2015; and/or SY 2019-2020 RQA established using DO 22, s. 2015 if there is/are any;
For Senior High School (by subject group)
iii. SY 2019-2020 RQA established using DO 3, s. 2016.
The SDOs are advised to undertake an entirely new recruitment and selection process in the event that the previous SY’s RQA has already been exhausted.
b. For SDOs that have already started their recruitment and selection activities prior to the issuance of this Memorandum, they may still consider the remaining qualified applicants from the previous SY’s RQA, if any. The remaining applicants may be included in the RQA for SY 2020-2021 to augment the number of applicants in light of the COV1D-19 situation. The points earned by the teacher applicants in the previous RQA may be honored, unless they have presented new documents to update their points.
c. In the implementation of Item Nos. 5.a and 5.b, however, the Division Selection Committee (DSC) shall be required to convene and update the said RQA by excluding those who were already hired/appointed, and update the points on specific criteria, such as experience, specialized training, and portfolio earned within SY 2019-2020.
Renewal and Compensation of Teachers with Provisional Appointments
a. Pursuant to the School Calendar and Activities for SY 2020-2021 per DO 7, s. 2020, Part V Item 13, which requires teachers to start rendering service on 01 June 2020, upon completion of the summer vacation on 31 May 2020; appointments of teachers on provisional status may already be renewed, subject to applicable hiring policies and CSC rules and regulations.
b. 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.
c. 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.
This advisory of instructions is made in response to the immediate concerns of the DepEd field offices that have been brought to the attention of this Office, particularly on the ways forward of hiring and selecting additional teachers for the coming SY 2020-2021 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, subject to the Applicable Hiring Guidelines for Teaching Positions as emphasized in DM-PHRODFO-2020-00049 dated 11 February 2020.
Furthermore, while the Department seeks to continue work operations, the highest consideration shall be given to ensure the safety and security of both teacher applicants and RSP implementors in these challenging times.
For further queries and clarifications on the adjustments, please contact the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development – Human Resource Development Division (BHROD-HRDD) through Sarah Bilag or Chanda Jetomo-Crisostomo at sarah.bilag@deped.gov.ph or ruby.jetomo@deped.gov.ph respectively.
For guidance and appropriate action.