By Jesamin E. Sarmiento, ADA III, Division office

Change is constant in today’s workplace. Downsizing, reorganizing and cost-cutting are just
some of the changes in one organization. No industry is excused and even government agencies are
undergoing significant change.
The rationalization plan was the biggest step in changing the organizational design and structure
of the Department of Education. The taken step was not new to us because it was a mandate through
Executive Order No. 366 in 2004. Primarily, it aspired to perk up the quality and efficiency of
government services by focusing government efforts and resources on its core services. In DepEd, we
can remember that the plan was driven with the long-term reforms in the education sector. With this
change, the department expected an improvement in its ability to respond to the needs of the students,
teachers, and schools.
As per the Implementing Guidelines of the DepEd Rationalization Program, the program had
several guiding principles. All the principles were important in the crafting and over-all implementation
of the re-organizational design but the most crucial was the principle of “ matching people to the jobs”
as it would determine how effective the rationalization plan is in the over-all output of the department.
It would be very critical to put the right person in the right job and the right job to the right person.
Likewise, the DepEd Division of Nueva Ecija, on its hiring and selection processes for the
positions of the Rationalized Structure, was strictly guided by the said principle. The Division started the
hiring and selection process by December 2014 and as early as January 15, the Division had already
identified the applicants who would fill up the positions brought by the rationalization program.
The division is now boasting its new organizational design which is composed of three major
divisions namely: Office of the Schools Division Superintendent (composed of the Administrative Unit,
Budget and Accounting Unit, Records Unit and ICT unit), Curriculum Implementation and Division and
the School Governance and Operations Division (composed of the Planning, Human Resource
Development and Health and Nutrition Unit)
The Administrative Personnel Unit manages and provides the relevant support to the human
resources of the division. The unit supports the staff in performing the best of their ability by ensuring
the optimum deployment of staff resources and by attending to their needs and request. The unit is
committed to recruiting and hiring the highest quality employees. The budget unit provides the

management with economical, efficient and effective budgeting services, reliable and timely financial
information for decision making towards the cost-effective allocation and utilization of financial
resources of the schools division. The accounting unit analyzes and attests the accuracy of accounting
records and reports, they provide information to the management to ensure the utilization of funds. The
records unit provides the division with the information from documents and records as reference in its
operations by managing the system relation to receiving, encoding, releasing, creation, utilization,
retention, preservation and disposal of records. The information and communications technology unit
provides appropriate information and communication technologies that enable the employees of the
division to access the information and services necessary to do their jobs.
The CID ensures full implementation of the articulated basic education curriculum (K to 12),
through localization/indigenization and innovations in teaching the various subject areas towards
improvement in the quality of learning outcomes.
Lastly, the SGOD provides full implementation of the division planning and research, promotion

of health and nutrition and actualization of human resource development for leaders, teachers, non-
teaching personnel and perspective retirees.

Noticeably, all the units of the new structure are process-oriented. Divisions/units perform
specific function taking into account the changes in the DepEd’s strategic directions and technology.
With the rationalization plan, the division’s organizational design was changed, new units were
added and employees’ duties and responsibilities are more target driven through well prescribed
indicators. Truly, there was a certain degree of difficulty in adapting with the changes, but as it is,
changes are inevitable. if we are to understand our job responsibilities and know how to work
collaboratively, we can always master and adapt to future organizational changes. Though not everyone
inside the division is affected by the rationalization plan, it is expected that its effect would certainly
trickle down to the lowest echelon of the division.