New DepEd Region 8 director vows to inspire teachers

PALO, Leyte, Oct. 11 (PNA) -- The newly-installed regional chief of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Eastern Visayas started his assignment in the region with a promise: to sincerely serve the teachers.

“The bottom line is we should be aware of the basic role of DepEd-- to develop the hearts and minds of our school children. This is our challenge,” Regional Director Ramir B. Uytico told teachers during Monday’s joint conference of educators at the DepEd regional office here.

While acknowledging that the works of teachers and education officials sometimes received little recognition in the society nowadays, the new director shared his solution to this issue.

“Something has to be done here. The secret is that the principal and school leaders should have the four C’s in life—character, competence, courage, and compassion,” Uytico said, as he recalled that said formula also worked in his previous DepEd assignments.

“There are many less travelled roads in DepEd. The government cannot provide everything to DepEd. If you’re courageous enough, share without expecting something in return,” he said.

“I emphasize to the men and women to the region. We exist because of the people. You don’t have a right to sit in your offices if you deprive the services of those we want to serve,” Uytico said while announcing some major changes in the regional office in its services to the visiting school officials and teachers.

“I don’t want to hear negative comments that you’re just spending time on Facebook while not processing the retirement papers (of teachers and school leaders). I will be your worst nightmare,” 

Uytico warned, adding that he is willing to do the work of his subordinates if they would not do their job well.

“I will first take care of the superintendents. After all, they are the one implementing programs and projects. I am depending on their performances,” he said.

According to Uytico, he is going to make it sure that the regional office would “radiate positive responses to the division offices.”

He said that if the region would genuinely serve the superintendents, this would cascade to the principals down to the teachers and to the school children.

“I will challenge all of them (superintendents) to take care of human resource, first and foremost the principals. I implemented this when I was superintendent of Dumaguete City,” he said while introducing an online system where all records of educators can be found and retrieved in just a click of the computer.

He also opposed the requiring of service record from teachers every time they would go to the division office when in fact, according to him, the service record is in the division.

“If the principal and teachers are dissatisfied of us, they would just take our orders for granted. If you (principals) are loved by the division office, you will radiate the same love to your teachers, then teachers to your pupils.” (PNA)
FPV/SQM/RONALD O. REYES/EGR