DepEd: Over 45,000 schools, only 1,000 guidance counselors

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education faces a serious shortage of guidance counselors, with fewer than 1,000 registered counselors serving more than 45,000 schools nationwide amid increasing incidents of violence and bullying, a ranking official said yesterday.

In an interview with dzBB, DepEd Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development Willie Cabral said the department is seeking to address the shortage through the implementation of Republic Act 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, including the hiring of at least 10,000 school counselor associates this year.

“According to the American School Counselor Association, internationally there should be one counselor per 250 learners. In the Philippines, in DepEd in particular, we only have a thousand registered guidance counselors. And this meets the needs of more than 45,000 schools across the country. So we are still a bit far from the ideal ratio,” Cabral said.

As of Jan. 31, Cabral said there were around 5,000 registered guidance counselors and less than 3,000 registered psychologists nationwide. However, fewer than 1,000 registered guidance counselors were serving under the DepEd.

The department created 5,000 guidance counselor positions in 2020, but only about 1,000 of these were filled, he said.

RA 12080, Cabral said, seeks to address the shortage and strengthen mental health and well-being services in basic education schools.

“That is why we are grateful because we have Republic Act 12080, which provides for the promotion of basic education, mental health and well-being. We will start with the creation of school counselor associates,” Cabral said.

Under the law, the DepEd is tasked with establishing a care center in every school.

“There should be a school counselor and a school counselor associate, along with other allied services. In the division, we will establish a Mental Health and Well-Being Office and it will be led by the schools division counselor,” Cabral said.

For 2026, the department is set to hire at least 10,000 school counselor associates, with the Department of Budget and Management having already authorized the creation of the positions.

“In fact, after the qualification standards were approved, the Department of Budget and Management has already released the creation of these positions and out of 10,000, we have 9,641 positions that have already been published,” Cabral said. “There are 6,968 ongoing assessments and there are 2,469 open for applications while the other 400 are still waiting for the issuance of the Notice of Organization, Staffing and Compensation Action.”

Applicants for school counselor associate positions must have completed a degree in psychology, guidance and counseling or related courses, provided they have earned at least 18 units in behavioral science and completed a supervised internship of at least 200 hours.

“The 10,000 positions have been created, all of them regular and permanent. That’s why they also need to have matching eligibility for services,” Cabral said.

A School Counselor Associate I is entitled to receive a basic monthly salary of P31,000 and a P2,000 personal economic relief allowance.

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