MANILA— The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to review the allocation of teaching positions and fast-track the hiring of special needs education (SNED) teachers amid persistent staffing shortages nationwide.

DepEd has 6,613 authorized positions under its SNED teaching plantilla, but 717, or 10.8%, remained vacant as of Feb. 11, 2026, according to EDCOM 2’s analysis. The National Capital Region recorded the highest number of vacancies at 216, followed by Region III with 109 and Region IV-A with 74.

An analysis by EDCOM 2’s Education Commission Analytics and Research (ECAIR) identified Quezon City as having the most vacant elementary-level SNED teaching positions at 48, followed by Manila with 40, Zamboanga del Norte with 20, Davao City with 19, and Bulacan with 17.

At the junior high school level, Pasay City had the highest number of vacancies at 46, followed by Quezon City with 13, Zambales and Davao City with 10 each, and Mandaluyong City and Rizal with seven each.

The analysis also found 1,906 schools with at least one learner enrolled in non-graded SNED programs but no SNED teacher recorded in the inventory, pointing to gaps in teacher deployment at schools serving learners with disabilities.

“In our visits to schools, teachers have expressed the lack of SNED plantilla positions for those who have been tasked to teach our learners with disabilities,” EDCOM Executive Director Karol Mark Yee said.

“This has resulted in the assignment of teachers without training in SNED to handle LWDs, or the extremely high ratios we have observed in some divisions, requiring urgent attention and intervention,” he added.

During EDCOM 2 consultations, teachers reported that a 15:1 ratio was being applied in mainstream classes regardless of learners’ needs. This can leave teachers responsible for multiple learners with different disabilities alongside other students, without clear guidelines for adjusting class sizes or providing individualized support.

Teacher-to-learner ratios reach 1:902

EDCOM 2’s analysis found that teacher-to-learner ratios for formally diagnosed learners with special needs in elementary and secondary education reached as high as 1:902 in Iloilo.

Other areas with high ratios included Baguio City at 1:494, Camarines Sur at 1:453, Parañaque City at 1:356, Pangasinan I in Lingayen at 1:355, and Zamboanga del Sur at 1:290. The shortage was particularly pronounced at the junior high school level.

The figures were based on public-school SNED learners with diagnoses from licensed medical specialists recorded in the Learner Information System as of Jan. 17, 2026, and filled Special Education Teacher I–V positions recorded in the Government Manpower Information System as of Feb. 11, 2026.

ECAIR data also showed that among 204,964 formally diagnosed learners with disabilities enrolled in public and private schools, 77,217, or 37.7%, were assessed to have autism. Another 37,019, or 18.1%, had intellectual disabilities, while 22,131, or 10.8%, had learning disabilities.

During a Senate hearing on the DepEd budget, Assistant Secretary Jerome Buenviaje said the ideal ratio for inclusive education was one receiving teacher for every five learners requiring support.

Using an illustrative estimate of 400,000 learners, Sen. Bam Aquino highlighted the potential scale of the staffing requirement.

“Sabi nyo sa Learner Information System, mayroong 495,000 learners with special needs. So let’s say sa 400,000 na special needs learners, at susundin natin ang ideal ratio na 1 teacher to 5 learner, we would need around 80,000 teachers. And currently, nasa 6,000+ pa lang ang teachers under the SNED plantilla. Napakalaki pa ng gap,” Aquino said.

Buenviaje clarified that meeting the estimated need would not require hiring 80,000 specialized SNED teachers, as general education teachers could also be trained to serve as receiving teachers for learners with disabilities.

Aquino said the support provided to these learners should prioritize the teachers who work directly with them, alongside facilities, equipment, and other resources.

“Yung mga special needs na mga kabataan kailangan talaga ng special na tulong and we need to provide more resources for them. More than the facilities, more than the paraphernalia and the equipment, it’s really the teachers that we need to focus on,” Aquino said.

Yee said the findings underscored the need to reassess SNED plantilla allocations, accelerate hiring, and establish a more responsive system for deploying teachers in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“The data highlights the urgent need to review the distribution of SNED plantilla positions, to fast-track hiring of SNED teachers, and the urgency for DepEd and DBM to establish a more responsive system of allocating SNED teachers,” Yee said.

“Clearly having ratios of 1:900 and 1:500 is unintended, and also untenable, if we truly want to provide inclusive education to our students. We hope that DepEd can look into this matter as it implements Republic Act 11650 (The Inclusive Education Act),” he added.