To further enhance mental health support for Filipino learners, the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday advanced the appointment of school counselor associates.
This is still in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to provide mental health services and psychosocial support to learners, especially in light of recent school violence incidents across parts of the country.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara led the mass oath-taking ceremony of 339 school counselor associates (SCA) I at the Techzone building.
The event coincides with the nationwide observance of Mental Health Awareness Month and National School Safety Week.
In an interview, the education chief said this is part of the agency’s efforts to strengthen learners’ accessibility to school-based mental health services.
“Ito talaga ‘yung tutugon doon sa paggabay sa ating mga anak na nasa eskwelahan, mga estudyante (This is what will address the needed guidance of our children in schools, our students)– not only career guidance but also personal problems,” Angara said.
“Paano i-navigate ‘yung kanilang student life,’ yung relasyon (How to navigate their student life, their relationship) with faculty, with family– all aspects touching on students’ lives.”
In addition to the 339 newly filled SCA plantilla positions in Metro Manila, DepEd Undersecretary for Human Resources Wilfredo Cabral assured that the agency is expediting the hiring of school counselor associates nationwide.
To achieve this, DepEd has compressed the recruitment and hiring timeline to just 36 days.
To date, 5,445 out of 10,000 authorized SCA positions have already been filled nationwide.
More than 4,000 SCA applicants are still under assessment, while over 300 SCA regular items are open for application, Cabral added.
School counselor associates will hold regular positions in public schools, with salary grade (SG) 11 or PHP31,705 for Step 1 up to PHP33,611 for Step 8.
Under Republic Act No. 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, SCAs must provide mental health and guidance services to the schools. (PNA)