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Education Secretary Sonny Angara recently shared that the Department of Education (DepEd) is coordinating with other government agencies to revise the current guidelines on expanding the pool of professionals to provide socio-emotional support to public school learners.

“We desperately need professionals who can shepherd and set up our students for success. We are currently working with other government agencies to relax regulations, allow psychometricians to come into the system, and temporarily fill the gap,” Secretary Angara said in a keynote speech during the Philippine Association for the Gifted (PAG) Conference.

The Education Chief emphasized that the country only has around 4,000 guidance counselor vacancies in basic education. He also noted that there are only 96 development pediatricians to serve 5.1 million learners living with disabilities.

“Our gifted and talented deserve not just cognitive acceleration but also socio-emotional support,” Sec. Angara noted.

As part of the agency’s initiative to help talented learners, the Department likewise noted that the budget proposal for the Philippine High School for the Arts and National Academy of Sports increased significantly to cater to more learners nationwide.

Meanwhile, Sec. Angara expressed his gratitude to the PAG for their support in developing and improving the public school teachers.

“Progress is a shared responsibility. Kaya nagpapasalamat kami sa PAG, for their offer to help train our public school teachers. Our goal is to further capacitate schools and teachers to assess gifted and talented learners effectively.”

PAG President Francis Dimalanta, MD., Dr. Kaye Napalinga, and former University of the Philippines Manila Chancellor Dr. Carmencita Padilla delivered their respective welcome remarks to the participants. Their attendance in the conference counts towards their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) completion.

*All Photos from DepEd