The Department of Education (DepEd) is considering expanding the pool of allied education professionals to provide socio-emotional support to public school learners.

In a news release on Wednesday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department is now coordinating with concerned government agencies to revise its guidelines on the matter.

“Our gifted and talented deserve not just cognitive acceleration but also socio-emotional support,” Angara said in a keynote speech during the Philippine Association for the Gifted (PAG) Conference held Tuesday.

“We desperately need professionals who can shepherd and set up our students for success. We are currently working with other government agencies to relax regulations, allow psychometricians to come into the system, and temporarily fill the gap.”

The country has only around 4,000 guidance counselor vacancies in basic education, he said.

Angara said there are only 96 development pediatricians across the country serving 5.1 million learners with disabilities, which, he added is not enough to efficiently attend to the learners’ needs.

Angara said the department has increased the budget proposal to address the shortage.

He also acknowledged the PAG for its support in helping public school teachers improve their crafts.

“Progress is a shared responsibility. Kaya nagpapasalamat kami sa (We thank the) PAG, for their offer to help train our public school teachers. Our goal is to further capacitate schools and teachers to assess gifted and talented learners effectively,” Angara said. (PNA)