SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday stressed that a Senate bill that seeks to promote the mental health and well-being of the country’s learners will also address the Philippines’ shortage of guidance counselors.

In a press briefing, Second Congressional Commission on Education Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee emphasized a significant gap in the availability of qualified guidance counselors within the Department of Education.

While there are nearly 5,000 plantilla positions for guidance counselors in the department, only about 300 candidates graduate each year with the required master’s degree in guidance and counseling.

This shortage is primarily due to the scarcity of schools offering master’s programs in guidance and counseling.

The EDCOM II executive director added that if the current setup continues, it will take 14 years to fill the current vacancies.

Aside from strengthening the school-based mental health program, the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act or Senate Bill No. 2200, which Gatchalian authored and sponsored, also prescribes the hiring of qualified and competent personnel to deliver mental health services.

The proposed measure creates the new plantilla positions of School Counselor Associate I to V, School Counselor I, and Schools Division Counselor.

Gatchalian emphasized that by creating more positions, mental health services can become more accessible to learners.

A School Counselor Associate must have a Bachelor’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling, any Bachelor’s Degree with 18 units of courses in Guidance and Counseling or Psychology, and any related Bachelor’s Degree with a minimum of 18 units of Behavioral Science subjects.

A School Counselor and a Schools Division Counselor must be a registered Psychologist. The existing positions of Guidance Counselor, Guidance Coordinator, and Guidance Services Specialist shall be converted or reclassified to the pertinent newly created positions.

“Kasabay ng pagkakaroon ng programa sa mental health ng ating mga mag-aaral, kailangan din nating tiyaking may sapat at mga kwalipikadong propesyonal upang maipatupad ang programa sa mga paaralan. Mahalagang itaguyod natin ang kapakanan at kaligtasan ng ating mga mag-aaral dahil nakakabit ito sa kanilang kakayahang matuto,” said Gatchalian.