MARY Cherry Romero, a first-time teacher applicant, expressed her appreciation over the hiring process of the Department of Education in Leyte Division during the second wave recruitment on Thursday, July 12, at the division gymnasium in Palo, Leyte.
“It was very orderly. Despite there were plenty of applicants, they were able to manage it smoothly,” said Romero who hails from the town of Bato, about 130 kilometers away from Palo.
Her co-applicant Aimee Barquin, 24, also said the same, as she found out the recruitment method being practiced by the division.
Leyte Schools Division Superintendent Ronelo Al Firmo has institutionalized the “open ranking system” for the evaluative assessment of documents to maintain transparency and democratic process in the hiring.
During the evaluation of documents and interview, all applicants will be given a chance to see their scores in the projector screen aside from confirming the points they garnered.
“I was hired based on my qualification and never on an endorsement letter from a politician or a known personality,” added 23-year-old Feir-Ann Agapay from Carigara, Leyte.
According to Agapay, she admired the way the division screened their documents.
“They’re meticulous on what we submitted, making it sure that every document is authentic,” she added.
An applicant has to earn 70 points to be included in the Registry of Qualified Applicants (RQA).
It covers the English proficiency test, behavioral events interview, demonstration teaching, validation of specialized skills, educational attainment, experience, and eligibility, among others.
Marilyn Siao, Leyte Schools Division assistant superintendent, earlier said that there are over 5,000 applicants for both elementary and secondary teaching positions this year.
In an open ranking system, the applicants were given the opportunity to be clarified on their scores, Siao said.
The RQA result is also posted in the division’s official social media accounts so every applicant will have the chance to see the ranking.
In the elementary level, 608 new items were already filled. While of the 683 new items for the secondary, 575 were already deployed.
The remaining 108 items for junior high school Teacher I positions in English, Filipino, Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH, and TLE (Drafting, ICT, EIM) will be filled after the scheduled second wave recruitment process.
Covering 40 towns in Leyte province, the Leyte Division has over 15,000 teachers assigned in 1, 107 elementary schools, 149 secondary schools, and 126 senior high schools.
As of this year’s Oplan Balik Eskwela, Leyte Division has 136, 022 students enrolled in both secondary and senior high schools and 236, 794 in elementary.