The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved 32,916 new teaching positions for the upcoming School Year 2026-2027, according to a Tuesday report.

According to the agency, the move aims to address the lack of classrooms and alleviate the heavy workload placed on teachers in public schools nationwide.

Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara said the newly-approved positions will oversee the following levels: Kindergarten, Elementary, Junior High School (JHS), Senior High School (SHS), and Alternative Learning Systems (ALS).

“Through the strong support of President (Ferdinand) Bongbong Marcos and the DBM under Acting Secretary Rolando Toledo, our request for these critical items has been granted, fundamentally expanding our teaching force so that our educators can focus on what they do best—nurturing the minds of our learners,” Angara said.

“This is a critical step in giving our schools the structural support they need to deliver quality education,” he added.

These items include 32,047 positions for Teacher I; 369 positions for Teacher III or Special Science Teacher I; and 500 positions for Teacher IV for the Special Needs Education (SNED) program.

The Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX) will be receiving the highest allocation of 3,361 items, such as 1,467 Teacher I positions for Division Sulu.

Other regions to receive large allocations are Central Luzon (Region III) with 2,722 items; CALABARZON (Region IV-A) with 2,644 items; Central Visayas (Region VII) with 2,586 items; and Northern Mindanao (Region X) with 2,541 items.