EDCOM 2: Budget omission leaves 23K public schools without principals

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) is urging the government to fund thousands of new school principal positions in the 2027 national budget, warning that a severe leadership shortfall leaves roughly 23,000 public schools without dedicated heads amid a national learning crisis.

The call comes after the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocated no funding for the Department of Education’s (DepEd) request to create more than 14,000 new administrator posts.

DepEd had requested P10.5 billion for the positions.

EDCOM 2 executive director Karol Mark Yee stressed that administrative leadership is crucial to improving educational outcomes and urged policymakers to prioritize schools currently operating without formal administrators.

"It is imperative that the 2027 budget considers this large shortfall, even prioritizing our 13,313 schools without either a school principal or even head teacher," Yee said.

During a Senate budget hearing, Education Undersecretary Wilfredo Cabral testified that only about 22,000 of the nation's 45,928 public schools have assigned principal positions.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian criticized the budget omission, citing that none of the unstaffed schools will receive new principal allocations under the proposed spending plan.

"And next year this is the problem — there is no budget for creation of new school principal positions," Gatchalian said during the hearing. "None of the 23,000 that lack principals is budgeted."