The Department of Education (DepEd) is tackling the severe shortage of nearly 25,000 school principals by pushing for a 1:1 principal-to-school ratio by 2026, Education Secretary Sonny Angara revealed in a Rappler Talk interview on February 18.
One of the biggest hurdles is the low passing rate of the principal qualifying exam, which currently sits at just over 20%, leading to a backlog of qualified candidates.
“Ang passing rate do’n parang 20-plus percent lang ang pumapasa. So may backlog tayo ng qualified applicants diyan,” Angara said. (The passing rate is only around 20%, so we have a backlog of qualified applicants.)
Since 2010, a single principal has been assigned to a cluster of three small schools, but DepEd now aims to eliminate this policy by hiring 15,000 new principals in 2025 as part of its long-term strategy. However, Angara admitted that achieving this 1:1 ratio by 2026 might be too optimistic given the current challenges.
DepEd is expected to roll out new strategies to attract more qualified applicants and improve the hiring process, ensuring that schools across the country have the leadership they need.
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