The Department of Education (DepEd) will prioritize the deployment of counselor associates to schools identified as “hot spots” for violence as it moves to strengthen student support amid recent violent incidents.

DepEd Undersecretary Malcolm Garma said Wednesday, 2 September, that the agency has mapped schools where incidents of violence have been recorded.

“We will be prioritizing ‘yung mga schools po natin, based on our mapping, ay mga tinatawag po nating hot spots wherein school violence are recorded,” Garma said during the Kapihan sa Manila Prince Hotel.

Garma said these are mostly large schools in urban areas.

“We are optimistic the hiring of counselor associates would really be a game changer for many schools,” he said.

DepEd has been authorized to hire 10,000 counselor associates and is currently filling the positions.

“We are in the process of hiring these counselor associates,” Garma said.

He acknowledged, however, that 10,000 counselor associates would not be enough to cover the country’s more than 45,000 schools.

During deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget, Garma said DepEd would seek funding for additional positions.

“We will be asking po for more because that 10,000 definitely would not be enough for the more than 45,000 schools that we have,” he said.

The deployment comes as authorities strengthen measures to prevent school violence following recent incidents, including fatal school shootings.