To: Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries
Regional, Staff Bureau, Center and Service Directors
Schools Division Superintendents/Vocational School Administrators
District/Division Supervisors
Principals/Heads of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

1. This Office hereby adopts a policy of empowering all public elementary and secondary school principals in order to achieve desired higher learning outcomes. All school principals shall henceforth be vested with instructional administrative and fiscal autonomy for a more effective and efficient delivery of quality basic education.
2. The following shall serve as general guidelines in the implementation of this policy:
   2.1 There shall be appointed a full-fledged school principal in every complete public elementary and secondary school. Plantilla items of teachers who are designated “officers-in-charge” or “teachers-in-charge” of schools shall be upgraded to become plantilla items of school principals in the said schools. School principals items shall be considered of equal rank and salary grade whether for the elementary or secondary schools.
   2.2 A career path for school principalship shall be instituted to provide stability and security of office for good performance. A promotion scheme that is based on merit shall be a reward for high achievement. Further education and training in school management which shall include modules in the use of educational technology and other multi-media learning resources shall be provided from regional and/or division In-Service Teacher Training (INSET) funds. All incumbent school principals and qualified school “officers-in-charge” and “teachers-in-charge” shall be recipients of such training awards.
3. The implementation of the policy of school principals empowerment shall begin on a pilot basis in School Year 1997-1998 with participating Divisional Leader Schools (DLS), Regional Science High Schools (RSHS) and Provincial Science High Schools (PSHS) throughout the country. At least one Elementary Leader School (ELS) per division shall be included in the pilot implementation. A project proposal for each participating school approved by the respective Regional Directors shall be presented to the Management Committee in its May 1997 meeting. The proposal shall indicate the scope and nature of instructional, administrative and fiscal autonomy granted, improvements in learning outcomes expected and agreed indicators.
4. The Bureau of Secondary Education under the leadership of Director Alberto Mendoza shall be tasked with completing the required staff work to carry through the successful implementation of this policy. Likewise, it shall coordinate the preparation of the Implementation Plan for each participating pilot project school. Reports of compliance with this Order shall be submitted to the Office of the Secretary (Attention: Undersecretary Erlinda C. Pefianco) for the initial status report and for the completed compliance report on or before March 30 and April 30, respectively.
5. For strict and immediate compliance.

Reference:
None
Allotment: l-2-3-(M.O.-l-87)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, REAPPOINTMENT
OFFICIALS
POLICY
PROMOTION
REPORTS