DOLE urges former OFWs to work as public school teachers in PH

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) urged returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who are licensed teachers to practice their teaching profession and become public school teachers in the country.

Under the program “Sa Pinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am/Sir (SPIMS),” OFWs who passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers may apply for teaching positions and be employed with the Department of Education.

SPIMS is a reintegration program for OFWs who had returned in the last three years, and had teaching experience in the last five years. Those who have teaching experience beyond five years, or have no teaching experience at all will need to undergo an online refresher course.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the program aims to provide decent and sustainable work for returning OFWs as public school teachers.

Bello said the program has helped ease the country’s insufficient supply of public school teachers, especially in the provinces and remote areas in the country.

“The program has again benefited new set of former OFWs who are now teachers. We are glad for the beneficiaries because they are already back for good, closer to their families and loved ones and they now have regular teaching positions in their respective hometowns,” he said.

DOLE-7 Regional Director ExequielSarcauga reported that a total of 19 OFWs in Central Visayas have benefited from the program also meant to reverse out migration by enhancing their skills. The new SPIMS beneficiaries formerly work as teachers and household service workers in Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Turkey.

Sarcuaga said the beneficiaries are given Teacher 1 (Salary Grade 11) plantilla positions after having passed and complied with all the needed requirements.

Five of the former OFWs who hail from Cebu are now teaching in the public schools of Cebu City, Madridejos, Borbon, and Lilo-an in Cebu. Fourteen beneficiaries, who are residents of Bohol, are now deployed in public elementary and high schools in Dagohoy, Trinidad, Danao, Tubigon, Loay, Cortes, Lila, Carmen, President Carlos P. Garcia, Talibon, and Mabini in Bohol.

DOLE, through the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), implements SPIMS together with DepEd, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Philippine Normal University (PNU).

Interested applicants may visit the website at www.nrco.dole.gov.ph while online application forms can be accessed at http://tiny.cc/ofwletpassers. (Luchel S. Taniza/Paul Ang)