A closer look at DepEd and the Secretary of Education

FOLLOWING Vice President Sara Duterte’s resignation as education secretary, a number of names have emerged to replace her in taking over one of the most important administrative agencies in the government. Given the urgent need to fill the position, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said the appointment of the next education secretary will be made before the end of the week I write this. Given that by the time this column runs on Monday, July 1, we may already have a new education secretary.

While we wait for this important announcement, let’s take a closer look at the nature of the Secretary of Education’s position, his powers and responsibilities under the law, and what awaits our next secretary in the education sector.

The Secretary of Education is responsible for the overall management and supervision of the Philippine basic education sector, which consists of: the public school system under the Department of Education, public basic education schools offered outside the Department (i.e., laboratory schools of public universities and colleges and local colleges and universities (SUCs and LCUs), schools under the Philippine Secondary Science School System and the Philippine National School of the Arts; and private K-12 schools.

The Secretary of Education, as such, is the president’s alter ego. In De Leon v. Carpio, the Supreme Court held that, theoretically, the president has complete control over all members of his cabinet and can appoint or replace them at will, subject only to the approval of the Commission on Appointments, and replace them at will. Once in office, they are at all times under the control of the president as their immediate superior. Justice Laurel put it well in Villena v. Secretary of the Interior when he said that “without diminishing the importance of the heads of the various departments, their personality is in reality only a projection of the personality of the president.” Hence, “their actions, when performed and reported in the ordinary course of business, are, unless disapproved or disapproved by the chief executive, presumptively the actions of the chief executive.”

The powers of the secretary of the department are provided for in the Administrative Code of the Philippines as follows: (1) To advise the president in the issuance of executive orders, regulations, proclamations and other instruments the promulgation of which is expressly delegated to the president with respect to matters within the jurisdiction of the department; 2) establishing principles and standards of department operation in accordance with approved government programs; 3) promulgating rules and regulations necessary to carry out the department’s goals, policies, functions, plans, programs and projects; 4) promulgating administrative regulations necessary for the effective management of offices subordinate to the Secretary and the proper implementation of related regulations; (5) to exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees under the Secretary as provided by law, including conducting investigations and appointing a committee or officer to conduct such investigation; 6) the appointment of all officials and employees of the department, except those whose appointment is entrusted to the president or other appointing authority; 7) exercise jurisdiction over all offices, offices, agencies and corporations subject to the department, as provided by law; 8) delegate powers to officials and employees subordinate to the secretary; and 9) perform other functions provided for by law.

In principle, the powers and functions and mandate of the Department of Education are vested in and exercised by only one person – the Secretary. However, these powers are distributed among the various bureaucracies in the DepEd pursuant to the principle of the shared governance framework pursuant to Republic Act No. 9155 or the “Basic Education Management Act of 2001.” Thus, the management of basic education devolving upon the Secretary of Education is shared among the various levels of the bureaucracy, such as the national level, the regional level, the division level, the school district level, and the school level. The powers of the Department of Education include: administrative supervision and control of public schools under its jurisdiction; disciplinary proceedings based on complaints filed or motu proprio against administrative officers of the department as well as school staff and non-teaching staff in the public school system; and judicious supervision and regulation of private primary schools.

The Secretary of Education is assisted by Undersecretaries for Administration, Curriculum and Instruction, Finance, Supply, Operations, and Legal and Legislative Affairs, as well as Deputy Secretaries whose duties, duties, and responsibilities are governed by law.

As a snapshot, the new secretary will oversee about 47,000 public schools under the Department of Education with over one million employees, 3,000 non-DepEd primary schools, and about 13,000 private schools nationwide. The Secretary will step into a position with enormous pressure to not only prevent the country’s growing education crisis, but also to ensure that students are ready for the future they aspire to.

The author regularly conducts The Legal Mind executive sessions for teachers and school administrators. Send an email to [email protected].