The Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Monday that it is set to streamline school forms and reports to significantly ease the administrative burden on public school teachers, allowing them to focus on improving student learning outcomes.

The new DepEd policy will mark an approximately 57 percent reduction from the 174 school forms previously required from teachers. Under this policy, five forms will be regularly completed by all teachers.

However, teachers may also accomplish 31 forms for ancillary tasks and 39 forms for teaching-related assignments, which may vary depending on the agreed designations of teachers under DepEd Order 005, s. 2024.

“Teachers have long raised concerns about excessive paperwork, and this policy directly responds to that. Reducing their bureaucratic workload will not only improve their well-being but also enhance the quality of instruction they provide to our learners,” DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said.

DepEd is set to issue a formal department order to implement the new guidelines, accompanied by nationwide orientation sessions to ensure smooth execution at the school level.

A study conducted by DepEd’s Technical Working Group on school forms revealed that teachers spend excessive hours on non-teaching tasks.

It found that 42 percent of teachers work more than 50 hours per week, dedicating an average of 17.8 hours to ancillary duties and 8.1 hours to program-related tasks.

Much of the time is spent on filling out school forms and reports, significantly reducing the time available for lesson planning, student engagement and instructional activities.

DepEd will create a data management framework to standardize data collection in all schools. This effort aims to eliminate redundant and outdated documentation requirements while ensuring essential school management information is accurately recorded.

The agency will also launch advocacy campaigns to raise awareness about the reforms and engage education stakeholders in improving teacher working conditions.