Section 26. Registration and Exception. —
No person shall engage in teaching and/or act as a professional teacher as defined in this Act, whether in the preschool, elementary or secondary level, unless the person is a duly registered professional teacher, and a holder of a valid certificate of registration and a valid professional license or a holder of a valid special/temporary permit.
Upon approval of the application and payment of the prescribed fees, the certificate of registration and professional license as a professional teacher shall be issued without examination as required in this Act to a qualified applicant, who is:
A holder of a certificate of eligibility as a teacher issued by the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports; or
A registered professional teacher with the National Board for Teachers under the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1006.
Professional teachers who have not practiced their profession for the past five (5) years shall take at least twelve (12) units of education courses, consisting of at least six (6) units of pedagogy and six (6) units of content courses, or the equivalent training and number of hours, to be chosen from a list of courses to be provided by the Board and the Department of Education, before they can be allowed to practice their profession in the country.
Those who have failed the licensure examination for professional teachers, with a rating of not lower than five percentage points from the passing general average rating, shall be eligible as para-teachers upon issuance by the Board of a two-year special permit, renewable for a non-extendible period of two (2) years. The para-teachers shall be assigned to areas where there is a shortage or absence of a professional teacher, as identified and provided by the Department of Education and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) education department to the Board for professional teachers and to the Commission. The special permit shall indicate the area of assignment of the para-teacher.
A special permit may also be issued by the Board to a person who has excelled and gained international recognition and is a widely acknowledged expert in his or her respective field of specialization.