The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Antique provincial office will hire 612 para-teachers, who will assist learners during the opening of classes on August 24.

The initiative will be implemented in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Antique through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay Para sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers-Government Internship Program (TUPAD-GIP) for four months starting August 17, according to DOLE Antique provincial director Melisa Navarra.

“The para-teachers will be the ones who will assist the child in going through their modules in their homes,” she said in an interview on Thursday.

DepEd will adopt blended learning where the students will just be provided with modules, which they will work at home.

The province of Antique has 590 barangays which will be assigned with one para-teacher each. Some 22 others will report at the DepEd district offices.

“Education graduates or those who have the ICT (Information Communication Technology) knowledge, who are still unemployed, may apply as para -teachers to the DOLE Antique provincial office as walk-in applicants or put their documents on a dropbox placed in front of the DOLE office in San Jose de Buenavista,” she said.

She said applicants may also coordinate with their Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) in their municipalities for their applications.

“The para-teachers will be receiving a daily salary of PHP395 which they could receive every 15th and 30th of the month,” she said.

Navarra said this project is an initiative of Antique Lone District Rep. Loren Legarda, the chairperson of the House Sub-Committee on the New Normal.

Para-teachers are expected to fill in the gap and provide the much-needed assistance to learners for them to cope with the new learning modality.

Legarda, in her July 20 statement, said para-teachers will be required to attend capability-building activities including mentoring and coaching by DepEd Antique so they could perform their duties and functions well. (PNA)