How to become a school principal in DepEd

New principal positions planned for 2026 to 2028

22,124

Of FY 2025 NASH takers met the standards in three or more domains

37.5%

Salary grade of School Principal I

SG 19

Score needed overall and in at least three domains

65

of public schools, about 23,000 of 45,928, still had no principal item in October 2026.

About half

EDCOM II news release, “EDCOM pushes for 2027 budget to close the gap in school principals nationwide” (18 October 2026), reporting DepEd's figures at the 16 October 2026 Senate hearing

of schools without a principal are led by Head Teachers or Teachers-in-Charge.

89.8%

EDCOM II Year Two Report (2025), Figure 10, p. 257

of principal positions are to be filled from 2028, up from 94.35% (22,320 of 23,661) in June 2025.

100%

EDCOM II National Education Plan (2026–2035), target 6.1.2.b, p. 94

“The absence of school principals in nearly half of all schools undermines the fundamental premise of school-based management.”

• Teacher I to VII

  The career lines split when you reach Master Teacher I, at SG 18: there you choose Classroom Teaching or School Administration. In schools with more than 1,000 learners, Teachers VI and VII and Master Teachers I may be designated Assistant School Head, a role DepEd ties to preparing aspiring principals.

  DepEd-DBM JC No. 01, s. 2025, section 6.2; DO 24, s. 2025

  How the career lines work

• Master Teacher

  At Master Teacher I you choose your career line, and you may switch lines once. Master Teacher II and School Principal I share SG 19. Passing the school head assessment opens the move into School Administration.

  EO 174, s. 2022, sections 3, 4, and 6; DO 24, s. 2025

  The salary grade equivalences

• Head Teacher or Assistant School Principal

  You are an on-stream candidate until February 24, 2028, with priority for School Principal I without passing through Master Teacher I, and NEAP is to prioritize your professional development. A position not reclassified or retitled by then is tagged co-terminus with the incumbent.

  DO 24, s. 2025, items 31, 34, and 37.c

  Your transition rules

• Teacher-in-Charge or Officer-in-Charge

  You may already run a school, but a first appointment as School Principal still requires the qualification standards and a pass in the school head assessment. Incumbent Teachers-in-Charge were among the priority takers of the FY 2025 NASH.

  DO 21, s. 2024, item 27; DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2025

  What the appointment requires

Education

Master’s in Education, Educational Management, or Educational Leadership; or a master’s in a relevant learning area with at least 9 units in Management

Experience

5 years of teaching, plus 1 year in learning area coordination, subject area supervision, school management and operations, or instructional supervision

Training

32 hours in curriculum, pedagogy, school management and operations, or instructional leadership, within the last 5 years

Eligibility

RA No. 1080, as amended (Teacher)

Performance

At least Very Satisfactory in your last rating period, covering one complete period in your current position

School head assessment

A Certificate of Rating from the NQESH, the Principal’s Test, or the NASH. In FY 2025, takers who met the PPSSH standards in three or four domains became prospective candidates for School Principal I.

1. Meeting PPSSH standards in four domains

   9,079takers, 25.8%

   Criteria

   A score of 65 or higher in the overall rating and in the specific ratings of at least four domains.

   Your next step

   Apply when a position opens. Your result makes you a prospective candidate for School Principal I, subject to the qualification standards and DepEd hiring guidelines.

2. Meeting PPSSH standards in three domains

   4,100takers, 11.7%

   Criteria

   A score of 65 or higher in the overall rating and in the specific ratings of at least three domains.

   Your next step

   Apply on the same terms, then complete a Targeted Development Program facilitated by NEAP within three months of your appointment.

3. With Developmental Areas

   21,977takers, 62.5%

   Criteria

   A score of 65 or higher in the overall rating but above 65 in the specific ratings of fewer than three domains, or a score below 65 in the overall rating.

   Your next step

   Complete Professional Development Interventions facilitated by NEAP and a Work Application Plan certified by your Schools Division Superintendent before you can be considered. In FY 2025, Head Teachers and Assistant School Principals at this level could opt to take Batch 2.

1. 1

   Answer the call for applications

   Each Schools Division Superintendent issues the call for reclassification by June 30. Natural vacancies are published as they open.

2. 2

   Pass the initial evaluation

   The HRMO checks your qualification standards, your school head assessment result, and your performance rating, then posts who is qualified and who is disqualified.

3. 3

   Be ranked out of 100 points

   A special HRMPSB scores every qualified applicant in an open ranking, from education, training, and experience to performance, accomplishments, and potential.

4. 4

   Wait for a slot in the queue

   The ranked list stays valid until it is exhausted. Applicants not reached this year stay in the queue for the next one.

5. 5

   Receive your appointment

   Once the regional office endorses the list and DBM issues its notice, appointments come out by March 30 of the following year, at step 1 of your new salary grade.

• A principal for every school

  Every DepEd school is to have its own School Principal item by 2028, 45,785 in all, and every principal position is to be filled on time as it is created.

  EDCOM II National Education Plan (2026–2035), targets 6.1.2.a and 6.1.2.b, p. 94

• A Principal Academy at NEAP

  NEAP is to establish a Principal Academy with professional learning communities for school heads. The plan aims for 33% of principals to meet school-based management competencies by 2028 and all of them by 2035.

  EDCOM II National Education Plan (2026–2035), targets 6.1.2.c and 6.1.2.d, pp. 94–95

• Instructional leadership first

  EDCOM recommends revising principals’ performance commitments to put classroom observation, teacher coaching, and curriculum implementation ahead of the administrative and compliance tasks that dominate the job today.

  EDCOM II Final Report, Turning Point (2026), p. 300

• More authority over school funds

  Only 5.9% of public schools, 2,661 of 45,225, receive their funds directly as implementing units. EDCOM recommends more, with training for school heads in financial management, procurement, and liquidation reporting.

  EDCOM II Final Report, Turning Point (2026), pp. 370–372

• More staff beside you

  Under updated staffing standards, the plan adds 12,078 Administrative Officer II and 44,285 Project Development Officer I positions in schools by 2028, to take administrative work off teachers.

  EDCOM II National Education Plan (2026–2035), target 2.1.5.a, p. 37

• Clearer accountability

  Each school is to get a dashboard of outcomes, equity, and resources, with public disclosure of its budget and spending. The RPMS is to be revised to make clear that principals’ incentives are no longer linked to student promotion.

  EDCOM II National Education Plan (2026–2035), pp. 36 and 104

1. 1

   Close your qualification gaps first

   Count your management units, relevant experience, and training hours now. Training counts only if you completed it within the last 5 years.

2. 2

   Study all five PPSSH domains

   Meeting the standards takes 65 or higher overall and in at least three domains, and four to skip the Targeted Development Program. A strong overall score cannot cover a weak domain.

3. 3

   Practice situational items under time

   NASH items are conceptual and situational, and each response is scored 0 to 3. Practice choosing the action that connects policy, people, and context, and drill your weakest strands.

4. 4

   Build evidence for the ranking

   Performance is worth 25 of the 100 points. Outstanding accomplishments, application of education, and application of learning and development are worth 10 each, so keep your awards, research, and results at work documented.

5. 5

   Learn from practicing principals

   DepEd strongly encourages coaching and mentoring sessions with experienced, proficient principals. Ask a principal you respect to review your school improvement work with you.

• Executive Order No. 174, s. 2022Establishes the Expanded Career Progression System, its two career lines, and the conditions for advancement to School Principal I.
• DepEd-DBM Joint Circular No. 01, s. 2025Sets the positions, salary grades, and career progression of teachers and school heads, and bases school head selection on merit.
• DepEd Order No. 24, s. 2025Guidelines on the Expanded Career Progression System: the transition for Head Teachers and Assistant School Principals, designations, and reclassification.
• DepEd Order No. 019, s. 2025Adopts CSC Resolution No. 2500471, the amended qualification standards for School Principal I to IV.
• DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2024Requires the school head assessment for first appointments and sets how its score counts.
• DepEd Order No. 24, s. 2020Adopts the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH).
• DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2025Administration of the NASH for FY 2025: its purpose, priority takers, and integrity rules.
• DepEd Memorandum No. 097, s. 2025 and No. 044, s. 2026Results of the FY 2025 NASH, Batches 1 and 2: competency levels, takers at each level, and next steps.
• EDCOM II Year Two Report (2025)“Fixing the Foundations”: who leads schools without a principal, and NQESH pass rates.
• EDCOM II Final Report, Turning Point (2026)Schools without a principal item, the principal positions allocated for 2026, Republic Act No. 12288, and recommendations on instructional leadership and school funds.
• EDCOM II National Education Plan (2026–2035)Targets for principal positions, the Principal Academy, school-based management, and school staffing.