THE SECOND Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) is urging the government to allocate funds in the proposed 2027 national budget to address the nationwide shortage of school principals, with around 45 percent of public schools still lacking formal principal positions.

DepEd Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral reported that only around 22,000 of the country’s 45,928 public schools had formal school principal plantilla items, leaving approximately 23,000 without designated principals.

Although the figures show improvement from January 2026, when 55 percent of DepEd-managed public schools lacked formal principal positions, EDCOM said a significant leadership gap persists.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the creation of 6,000 School Principal I positions for 2026. Of these, around 2,000 had been filled, while 914 Teachers-in-Charge had been reclassified into formal principal positions.

However, the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) contains no funding for the creation of additional school principal positions, despite DepEd’s request for P10.5 billion to establish and finance more than 14,000 additional Principal I plantilla items.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian expressed concern over the lack of funding, noting that the proposed budget would not provide new principal positions for schools still operating without formal school heads.

To address the shortfall, Cabral said DepEd would tap the P12.09-billion allocation under the Expanded Career Progression framework to facilitate the reclassification of eligible head teachers and Teachers-in-Charge.

EDCOM’s analysis also found that 13,313 public schools had neither a formal school principal nor a head teacher position, while another 12,577 had only head teacher positions.

Under DepEd Order No. 77, series of 2010, schools with at least nine teachers should have a school principal position, while those with at least six teachers should have a head teacher position, subject to provisions allowing school clustering.

However, the commission found that these guidelines had not been consistently implemented.

Among schools with nine to 24 teachers, only 54 percent had principal positions, while 28 percent had only head teacher positions and 18 percent had neither.

Even among larger schools with more than 25 teachers, 727—or nine percent—had neither a principal nor a head teacher position.

EDCOM Executive Director Karol Mark Yee stressed that the proposed 2027 budget must address the leadership gap, particularly in schools without either a principal or a head teacher.

As the country continues to grapple with a learning crisis, Yee emphasized the need for capable school leaders who are formally appointed and properly assigned to their positions.

He also urged DepEd to review the implementation of its 2010 guidelines and strengthen monitoring and accountability mechanisms to ensure that schools have the leadership positions they need.