Senator Villanueva seeks urgent action on shortage of special needs teachers

Sen. Joel Villanueva has called for immediate measures to address shortages of special needs education (SNED) teachers and specialists who diagnose and provide care for children with developmental conditions, including autism.

Villanueva raised the issue during a Senate hearing, recounting his visit to Minuyan Elementary School in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, where two SNED teachers were reportedly handling 138 children with special needs.

“Our children cannot afford to wait. We need to address the shortage of SNED teachers,” Villanueva said.

He also highlighted the difficulty families face in obtaining developmental assessments because of the limited number of developmental pediatricians and other specialists.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara agreed with the senator’s concern, saying children may have to wait a year to secure an appointment with a developmental pediatrician.

Villanueva, co-chairperson of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM2), also cited shortages of occupational therapists and speech therapists, pointing to recruitment bottlenecks in government hospitals, including plantilla positions that remain unapproved despite institutions’ capacity to hire more specialists.

He said additional government support could allow teaching and training hospitals to produce more specialists each year.

The Philippine Children’s Medical Center currently trains five specialists annually but could accommodate at least 15. The National Children’s Hospital trains eight and could increase its output by at least 10, while the Philippine General Hospital trains two specialists a year but has the capacity to accommodate 10.

“There are low-hanging fruits that we can actually implement right away,” Villanueva said, urging government agencies to address existing gaps while pursuing longer-term reforms.

He stressed that increasing the number of specialists should be accompanied by affordable developmental assessments and appropriate interventions, particularly for families with limited financial resources.

Beyond addressing workforce shortages, Villanueva called for the institutionalization of an autism care and inclusion program to safeguard the rights and dignity of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder and promote their participation and well-being in society.

He noted that the Senate had already approved the National Autism Care, Support and Inclusion Act, emphasizing the need to translate legislative action into accessible services for children and their families.

“The Senate already approved the National Autism Care, Support and Inclusion Act. For every child who remains undiagnosed, for every family struggling to find the right support, and for every student waiting for a teacher, we have a responsibility to act,” said Villanueva, a co-author and co-sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1822.

“Inclusion must go beyond words. It must be felt by every child and every family who needs it,” he added.