Shortage of guidance counselors nationwide - a setback highlighted during a hearing of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture. According to the Department of Education (DepEd), Atty. Razzel Anne Requesto revealed that there are 4,000 vacant positions for this profession.

“Around 4000 po, I believe, yung vaccant po na counseling position,” she said 

[“I believe, there are around 4,000 vacant for counseling position.”]

The department noted that high qualifications are one of the factors making this role hard to fill.

“The qualifications are quite steep, so I believe there’s a master’s degree that’s involved as well,” Atty. Requesto said

To address this concern, DepEd has opened a Guidance Counselor Associate position, which doesn’t require a master’s degree, yet requires a graduate of Psychology or other related courses. 

The agency is also training teachers to detect early signs of bullying, as they can identify red flags and behavioral precursors indicating that a student may be a victim of bullying.

“Sila po talaga yung nakaka-identify if may nangyayari na pong precursors to bullying or signs or red flags na the child is already being bullied,” according to Atty. Requesto

With reports from Evan Alvarez

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