How To Apply As A Public School

Teacher In The Philippines

Updated on January 10, 2013

A public school teacher-applicant in her demonstration teaching

Source: Image: kibsri / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There is no denying that teaching in a public school gives more security of employment than
teaching in a private school. You become an employee of the government, thus, you are entitled to
security of tenure. Barring any legal actions or unfortunate circumstances that may cause you to be
removed or retired from teaching, you are likely to be a public school teacher until the time of your
retirement. When it comes to the salary, the public system offers more benefit package than the
private schools system except for some big private schools. That is why; more teaching degree
graduates seek to apply in the public schools. Even some of those who are currently teaching in the
private schools try their luck and apply in the public school system.
The following tips are culled from the collective experiences of my sister, a friend and mine when we
applied as public school teachers. I also did a research particularly about the hiring guidelines for
recruiting public school teachers of the Department of Education. It is to be noted that the
recruitment of teacher-applicants for every school year is from January to April. This includes
everything from applying, evaluating, ranking and ultimately hiring the successful teacher-applicants.
So, here are the steps to apply as a public school teacher in the Philippines:
1. Prepare the requirements for application first. These are:
a. Application letter
b. Civil Service Commission Form 212 two copies of this and your latest 2x2 ID pictures. When
you fill up the CSC Form 212, dont leave any blank space. Write N/A if you have nothing to write for
a certain question or if the data which you are going to enter are not applicable. For instance, there
is a particular space for writing Jr.. If you aren't a "Junior", then write N/A.

c. Rating obtained from taking the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET). Submit a certified
photocopy. Certified photocopy means that you present the original rating and then the certifying
officer will attach his/her signature on the photocopy of the said rating.
d. A photocopy of your transcript or records from the college/university where you graduated this
should also be a certified photocopy.
e. If you have a teaching experience, you should include your service record, performance rating
and clearance from the school where you previously taught.
f. Certificate of specialized training if you have any.
Make sure that there are no erasures or errors in the papers that you are going to submit. Make your
photocopies as clear as possible. All the entries will be verified later when you are being interviewed,
so strive to make them as accurate and truthful as possible. It is your responsibility as an applicant
not to give misrepresentations in your application papers.
In my experience, I used only an ordinary long folder to place all the pertinent papers in it. I labeled it
properly and made it as simple, clear and clean as I could. Make it professional-looking and easy to
read. Dont overstuff it with unnecessary papers. Submit only what are required.
2. Submit your application to the head of the school where you plan to teach. You can also
apply to the district office or the division office. But the standard procedure is to apply to the school
head of the public school where you intend to teach. This was what I followed when I applied. Now, if
you are applying for the elementary level, go to the head of the elementary school nearest your
place of residence. Ditto if you are applying in a public high school. It is required that you apply to
the school nearest your residence because public schools here in the Philippines follow the
provisions of R.A No. 8190 known as the Localization Law. This means, in context, that you will have
to be assigned to a place that is nearest to your residence.
3. Wait for the schedule of interview. Then resolve to come ahead of the interview time. Dress
properly. Anticipate questions that may be asked of you. This way, you will be very prepared to
answer each question and thus project a smart personality to the interviewer.
4. Write a good demonstration lesson plan. A well-prepared and well-executed demonstration
lesson plan can singlehandedly earn you the nods of the evaluators. Prepare appropriate and
interesting visual aids. Choose to demonstrate the subject in which you excel. This will make your
demonstration teaching a breeze and will increase your chances of delivering an effective demo
lesson. When you apply as a public school teacher, you are about to teach a big class. So, the
evaluation committee looks for those who can deliver interesting classroom interaction that will keep
the students engaged to the lesson. Usually, the evaluators or selection committee is composed of
principals, school heads and master teachers. They are easily impressed with a very good
demonstration teaching. They are apt to give you high marks when you are able to keep them tuned
in to you while you are demo-teaching. When we had our demo-teaching, I noticed that they tend to

talk or chat with each other if they find a demonstration boring. So, just by observing them, you will
know if you have high chances.
Impress the evaluators with your good command of English. If you are asked in English during the
post-conference/interview, answer in the same language. Of course you must have a good
command of grammar. There is no room for errors when you are still in the process of applying for
that public school teaching job.
5. You will also be required to take an English proficiency exam. I remember the test is
composed of reading comprehension and correct grammar usage. You and the other teacherapplicants in the whole division will be scheduled to take this test simultaneously. So prepare and
review your English grammar. Top up your reading comprehension skill.
6. After going through all the process, wait for the release of the rank list of teacherapplicants. The result will be posted in a bulletin board of the division office. You get a chance of
being hired immediately if you sit atop the rank list or at least in the top 10 or so. They hire according
to the ranking provided in the list.
7. If you rank high up in the list, you will most probably receive a phone call asking you to
report in the district or division office. If you havent got call, you can follow up your
application by calling them. So, be reminded to get the phone number of the school, district and
division office where you are applying.
Now, you may wonder, how do they rank the teacher-applicants? Here are the criteria which the
selection committee use to evaluate those who apply as public school teachers in the Philippines:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Education-25%
It is computed by evaluating your academic achievement in college. This is done by computing the
general weighted average of your entire subjects with their corresponding units. You get 25 points,
which is the highest, if your general weighted average is 99-100% or a 1.00. If it is 97.75-98.75 or
1.10 you get 24 points and so on.
For those who graduated with a non-education degree but wish to apply as public school teachers,
yours shall also be computed by getting your college GWA. This will be combined with the GWA of
your 18 education units. This means to say that you can apply only if you have taken 18 units in
education. A corresponding transmutation table will be constructed for those who have a grading
system other than the ones mentioned earlier.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Teaching experience-10%

You will be given one point for every year that you taught in a pre-school, elementary and secondary
in both private and public schools prior to your application. However, if you taught for 15 years
already, it is still counted as 10 points.
3. Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) rating-10%
If your LET rating is 87% or higher, you get the maximum 10 points. If it is in the range of 85%-86%,
you get 9 points and so on.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Experiential learning course-5%
This includes field study or practice teaching. The maximum points given to teacher-applicants here
is 5 points.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Specialized training and skills-5%
This should be supported with documents. Besides, the said training should have lasted for a week.
If less than a week, it is not counted. You will also be asked to demonstrate that particular skill. If you
have that specialized training in sports music, journalism, theater arts and information and
communication technology, then you get the points provided you satisfy the requirements mentioned
earlier.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Interview-10%
Your personality and potential are measured here. Be alert, self-confident, and poised throughout the
interview. Take note of your appearance and voice projection. The way you present ideas, judgment
and decisions are also taken note of. Dont be rattled when you are asked a barrage of questions.
Show that you are not easily stressed out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Demonstration teaching-20%
As pointed out earlier, prepare a well-written lesson plan. Show that you can manage the classroom
well. Deliver the lesson in such a way that every student will be engrossed to what is transpiring in
the room. The evaluators will likely give you a high score if your students get a 100% mastery level
during your demonstration teaching.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. Communication skills-15%

You are given points here based on the result of your English proficiency test.
If you have been contemplating to apply as a public school teacher in the Philippines, now is the
right time to start applying. I hope this hub will guide you through your application.