SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian is seeking the allocation of an additional P58 million for the Teacher Education Council, a body tasked with improving teacher education and training.

Twenty-eight thousand pesos (P28,000) of the additional funds will be allocated for hiring 28 personnel to work under the TEC Secretariat.

Though the new positions were approved by the Department of Budget and Management this year, the funding for them was not reflected in the General Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2025.

Meanwhile, P30 million of the proposed funds will cover the TEC’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), including research, consultations, dialogues, benchmarking, workshops, and validation activities.

The TEC’s MOOE will also fund regular meetings, operational expenses, and the space needed for the TEC secretariat outside the Department of Education.

“I am appealing for this additional P58 million to fully equip the Teacher Education Council. I truly believe that this is a low-hanging fruit and an immediate reform in terms of strengthening and empowering our teachers, especially when it comes to training and locating good potential teachers to come into the system. The Teacher Education Council has a lot of powers to improve the teaching capabilities of our education system,” said Gatchalian, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Gatchalian is the principal author and sponsor of the Excellence in Teacher Education Act, which revamped the TEC. The law strengthens the coordination between the DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Professional Regulation Commission. The TEC’s other responsibilities include establishing a teacher education roadmap and setting basic requirements for teacher education programs.