THE Second Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM 2 on Friday urged the Department of Education to address the large gap in the number of schools without principals in the country, and to implement measures to better support and develop school heads.

The Commission, in a hearing, uncovered various issues in staffing school heads, including outdated policies, and uncoordinated quality standards.

Chaired by EDCOM 2 Co-Chairpersons Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and Rep. Roman Romulo, the hearing was attended by DepEd officials, led by Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral and Assistant Secretary Malcolm Garma.

Also in attendance were EDCOM 2 Standing Committee members Dr. Dina Ocampo of the UP College of Education, Dr. Carmela Oracion of the Ateneo Center for Educational Development, and Dr. Maria Cristina Robles, herself a former school principal at Navotas National High School.

Recent consultations and research by EDCOM 2 show that effective school leadership has been shown to significantly impact school success and learner achievement.

“Our own consultations in EDCOM show that school heads have a profound impact on teacher behavior, teamwork, job satisfaction, and student learning. In many schools we visited, it was clear that one of the main factors to improve the quality of education is having a good school principal, ” Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee said.

DepEd data presented by Usec. Cabral showed that, out of more than 45,198 schools in the country, there are only 20,718 filled principal positions nationwide.

Of the total, there are currently 2,882 vacancies.

Meanwhile, the remaining 24,480 only have Teachers-In-Charge.

However, TICs often lack standardized training and support, limiting their ability to perform effectively.

Cabral noted that even if all remaining qualified NQESH passers are promoted, there will still be 18,576 schools without principals.