By Jesamin Sarmiento, ADA III, Division Office

“ A great teacher changes a student’s life “ I firmly believe that this line is not an overstatement
because there are endless amount of stories that can attest to that. Teachers have the influence in their
own capacity to guide the kids in becoming productive citizens. The way they work hard is a strong
factor by which the goals and objectives of an educational system are being achieved. It is for this
reason that the Department of Education takes into account that the quality of an educational system
cannot and will never exceed the quality of its teachers.
Every year, the Division of Nueva Ecija receives more than 100 teacher applicants who long to
be part of the Department of Education and whose passion burns like fire. Many of them believe that
since they are all passers of the Licensure Examination for Teachers, they are so close to begin their
teaching career. Many say that they can already feel the chalk dust on their fingers. They never know
the tests or struggles ahead of them before they can join the ranks of our highly-admired educators.
The DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2005 entitled “ Hiring Guidelines for Teacher 1 Position “ is used as
guidelines for this School Year 2022-2023 Ranking for Elementary and Junior High School Teacher, while
for the Senior High School Teacher the DepEd Order No. 3, s. 2016 entitled “ Hiring Guidelines for Senior
High School Teaching Position “. Applicants’ reaction to the new cut-off score to be included in the RQA

which is 70 points was not friendly for they think that it is too much compared to the recent years cut-
off score which is 55 points. In addition, they all need to undergo the rigorous process of screening. As

DepEd Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo said “ Not all LET passers are qualified for the position, we will
hire applicants that are most qualified. “
As directed by the guidelines, the points for LET/PBET rating is 15, 10 points for the specialized
training and skills, 15 for the demonstration teaching, while the experimental learning courses was
removed from the criteria. Further, previous years’ applicants did not need to register in the DepEd
online application system where a Unique Applicant Number is being issued to applicants after they
successfully uploaded their PDS.
The School Screening Committees verified and certified as to the completeness, veracity,
accuracy and authenticity of the documents by the applicants. The Division personnel selection board
then evaluated the papers of the applicants on the various criteria. Certificates were scrutinized to give
credit points to the applicants.

Applicants have undergone interview to describe their teaching ability, classroom management
and school fit. Their demonstration teaching was evaluated as to their lesson plan which could be
detailed or semi-detailed lesson plan and preparation, classroom management, teaching-learning
process, language proficiency, assessment of learning outcomes and reinforcement of learning. The
English proficiency test this year was administered by the National Education Testing and Research
Center. Lastly, the applicants needed to demonstrate the skills they learning from their specialized
training. Teacher applicant were given 5 points or nothing based on way they demonstrated their skills.
Many applicants had a hard time during the ranking process. At first, they thought it was going
to be an easy road towards becoming a public-school teacher since they were already armed with
diploma and license. But when they realized, they found themselves passing through the eye of a
needle.
DepEd should not be blamed of these changes in the recruitment and selection process for the
Teacher I position. As the volume of teacher-applicants increases yearly, there is really need for the
guidelines to be amended. In previous years, teacher applicants only needed to pass the LET to qualify
to get hired in public schools. However, with the implementation of the K to 12, it has prompted the
DepEd to re-examine its standards. DepEd expects that these changes will create critical changes
necessary to further accelerate, broaden, deepen and sustain improvements in our country’s
educational system. The Department of Education desire for improvement of school and student’s
performance propels a unified system that requires highly qualified teachers.
We, at Division of Nueva Ecija, strictly adhere to these guidelines to guarantee that only the
most qualified applicants for Teacher I item position will be hired. It is also to ensure quality learning for
our learners. We commend our Schools Division Superintendent, the Personnel Selection Board, the
Education Program Supervisors and Specialists for their fairness and expertise which they contribute
into the table during the ranking process.