Organizational Excellence requires the Department of Education (DepED) to employ strategies for its continuous improvement to better serve its stakeholders as a learner-centered public institution. Guided by this long-term vision, it is the team’s vision for DepED by 2022 to become a modern, professional, pro-active, nimble, trusted and nurturing institution delivering quality, accessible, relevant and liberating K to 12 Education enabling the learners to be nation-loving, resilient and competent lifelong learners. DepEd officials and employees at different governance levels strive to perform their mandated functions in accordance to the vision, mission, and core values. The battle cry of the DepED calls for the convergence of all governance levels as “ONE DEPED” in strategizing organizational excellence.
DepEd is affected by the constant change and dynamics emerging in its internal and external environment. Internal determinants urge DepED to engage into (1) rationalization program review, (2) ISO Certification and Citizen’s Charter, (3) Cash-Based Budgeting, (4) Contract of Service, (5) School Structure Review, (6) Career Progression, (7) PRIME-HRM and other HR initiatives, and (6) Financial Reforms. Externalities also affect DepED in terms of observing (1) Ease of Doing Business Act, (2) Drug-Free Workplace, (3) Rightsizing, (4) Freedom of Information, (5) Data Privacy Act, and (5) Federalism. Such emergence prompted DepED to develop strategies that will guide them in transforming organizational excellence.
The increasing demand of work requires DepED to respond to the pressing needs of all governance levels. As of July 11, 2018 (BHROD Data), the governance levels include one (1) Central Office (CO), 17 Regional Offices (ROs), and 223 Schools Division Offices (SDOs). The employees continue to increase in number in all governance levels with a total of 772,710 plus. The DepED has 38,934 elementary and 9,001 secondary public schools; while, 12, 759 elementary and 7,033 secondary private schools.
The DepED conceptualized three (3) major strategies for 2018 to 2022. These strategies include (1) organizational alignment, (2) establishing Quality Management System (QMS), and (3) School Organizational Structure Review.
Organizational alignment requires the review of the DepED Rationalization Program consistent to Executive Order No. 366, s. 2004 (Directing a Strategic Review of the Operations and Organizations of the Executive Branch and Providing Options and Incentives for Government Employees who may Affected by the Rationalization of the Functions and Agencies of the Executive Branch). The DepED needs to adhere to the policies provided in the “Rightsizing the National Government Act of 2017” to improve public service delivery. Organizational alignment enables the DepED to align its organizational purpose, process (system) and people towards performance excellence. The Department’s goal is to come up with an integrated proposal to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Establishing QMS conforms to the Presidential Directive on quality services and speedy reforms which President Rodrigo R. Duterte professed during the State of the Nation Address on July 2017. Executive Order No. 605, s. 2007 directed all departments in the Executive Branch to establish a QMS certified to the ISO 9001 standards. The Government Quality Management Committee (GQMC) issued Memorandum Circular No. 2018-1 which provides the guidelines on the validation of the ISO 9001:2005 QMS Certification as a Requirement for the Grant of the FY 2018 Performance-Based Bonus (PBB). As 2018 GQMP beneficiary by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), the DepED National QMS (2018-2022) will work on its QMS by phases, such as: Phase I – Pilot (July to December 2018), Phase II – Expansion (2019-2020) and Phase III – Standardization (2021-2022).
School Organizational Structure Review is a strategy which focus on reviewing the (1) processes connected to NQMS, (2) staffing and competencies; (3) career progression; (4) typologies; (5) linked to School-Based Management and Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST). In this way, the organizational structure and staffing of the schools will also be reinforced. The transformational process expands to the schools.
Converging as ONE DEPED will contribute in realizing the vision, mission, and core values of the Department. The emerging challenges engaged DepED to strategize transformative solutions such as organizational alignment, quality management system, and school organizational structure review. Certainly, this will be an engaging and beneficial transformational journey of the Department towards service excellence.
By: DR. JUTCHEL L. NAYRA
Administrative Officer V