WITH the resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte from her Cabinet post as Secretary of Education, there have been a lot of names being floated around to succeed her in taking over one of the most important administrative agencies in government. Given the urgency to fill the position, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that the appointment of the next education secretary would happen before the end of the week as of this writing. Given that, when this column comes out on Monday, July 1, we may already have a new education secretary.

As we await this important announcement, let's look closely at the nature of the position of the Secretary of Education, its powers and functions under the law, and what awaits our next secretary in the education sector.