More than P182 million has been allotted for scholarships in master’s degrees in Guidance Counseling or Psychology and other specializations – allocations that are necessary to resolve the critical shortage of mental health and inclusive education professionals in the Philippine education system.
“The historic budget we allotted to the education sector for 2026 includes investments that will support inclusive education and uphold the mental health and well-being of our learners,” EDCOM 2 Commissioner Senator Win Gatchalian said.
“The historic budget we allotted to the education sector for 2026 includes investments that will support inclusive education and uphold the mental health and well-being of our learners.”
“These scholarships to support future guidance counselors, therapists, and other allied health professionals are consistent with the progressive realization of promoting mental health in basic education and supporting inclusive education for learners with disabilities,” Gatchalian added.
Budget allocations under the Fiscal Year 2026 General Appropriations Act under the Commission on Higher Education include “Specialized Post-Graduate Scholarships for DepEd (Department of Education) Personnel”.
Of this amount, P121.37 million is allocated to support at least two Department of Education employees per Schools Division Office (SDO), while another P60.68 million is earmarked for at least one qualified employee per SDO to specialize in support of inclusive education programs.
The GAA also mandates a return service agreement for scholars. Under the special provision, the scholarship recipients “shall commit to serve in public schools or government health facilities for a period equivalent to the number of years they received the scholarship”. Underserved areas and schools with inclusive education programs are prioritized.
Data from the Commission reveals a staggering gap in professional supply, noting that in the 2023-2024 school year, there were fewer than 300 graduates nationwide for a Master of Arts in Guidance Counseling.
“True inclusivity in education means having the right people on the ground. Through these investments, we ensure that our Schools Division Offices (SDOs) and Inclusive Learning Resource Centers are staffed with multidisciplinary teams—from registered guidance counselors (RGCs) and psychologists, to therapists,” Pasig Representative Roman Romulo said.
The Commission has also highlighted the need for specialists to comprise multidisciplinary teams in Inclusive Learning Resource Centers (ILRCs).
Under the CHED Merit Scholarship Program, priority will be given to undergraduate students enrolled in Educational Psychology, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Language Pathology to ensure that the sixteen-member teams mandated by RA 11650 can be fully realized. Recipients of these scholarships will be required to fulfill a return service obligation in public schools or government health facilities, with a specific focus on deployment to underserved areas and schools with active inclusive education programs.
“The return service agreement is a vital component of this budget. It guarantees that the expertise acquired by our scholars will be deployed where it is needed most: in our public schools and underserved communities, serving learners with diverse needs,” Romulo added.
Complementing these efforts, the Teacher Education Council (TEC) received P103 million for its Teacher Education Scholarship Program.
This funding is intended to address widespread teacher specialization mismatches—where approximately 64% of teachers handle subjects outside their majors—by funding 1,200 scholarship slots. These slots include 500 dedicated positions for Special Needs Education and another 500 for Early Childhood Education, ensuring that educators in the basic education sector possess the specialized expertise necessary to support learners with diverse needs effectively.
“We cannot expect quality education if our educators are not equipped with the right expertise.”
“EDCOM 2 data revealed a staggering mismatch in our system. We cannot expect quality education if our educators are not equipped with the right expertise,” EDCOM 2 Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee said.
“This funding for the Teacher Education Council is a strategic intervention to close this gap. By specifically targeting Special Needs and Early Childhood Education, we are moving from merely counting teachers to ensuring we have the right teachers for the specific needs of Filipino learners,” Yee concluded.
