As Filipino students make their way back to school, the issue of inadequate classrooms and school desks takes center stage, overshadowing the bare walls that greet them. The quality of public school education in the Philippines continues to decline, and the persistent shortage of classrooms only exacerbates the problem. This academic year, with over 16.8 million enrolled learners returning to full in-person classes, the problem has become even more acute following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
The Department of Education (DepEd) has admitted to a shortage of 159,000 classrooms in the country, a four-fold increase from last year’s projection of 40,000. This shortage impacts 4 to 5 million students nationwide, highlighting the gravity of the situation. Despite education receiving the largest portion of the national budget, amounting to P924.7 billion for 2024, with P758.6 billion allotted to the DepEd alone, the classroom shortage persists.
President Marcos, in his State of the Nation Address, vowed to address the issue by increasing the number of public schools, fortifying facilities, and making them ready for hybrid and high-tech learning while being climate-ready and disaster-proof. However, the budget priorities of the DepEd do not align with this assurance. Only a portion of the P33.8 billion set aside for the basic education facilities program in 2024 will be used to construct new classrooms and technical-vocational laboratories. According to the DepEd’s own estimation, 13,000 new classrooms should be built annually to accommodate the 2% increase in enrollment each year.
Education Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas stated that P397 billion is required to eliminate the classroom backlog. In the meantime, the DepEd resorts to dividing classes into three shifts in densely populated areas like Metro Manila, leading to shorter learning hours and exacerbating the learning loss caused by the prolonged pandemic lockdowns. While hybrid or blended learning could be an alternative during emergencies, many economically disadvantaged public school students lack the necessary resources for online classes, such as gadgets and stable internet connection.
Amidst these pressing concerns regarding the educational needs of millions of students, it is disheartening that so much public debate and attention have been directed towards the DepEd’s focus on removing unnecessary artwork, decorations, and posters from classrooms. This directive has burdened teachers with additional work, diverting their attention from more critical issues such as the lack of classrooms. Instead of obsessing over cosmetic changes, the DepEd should prioritize garnering wider public and private support to build the much-needed classrooms. Collaborations with the public works department, local government units, and private sector donors, as well as grants from foreign governments and international organizations, already exist. However, according to Densing, at the current rate of funding, it would take more than 20 years to solve the classroom shortage.
It is evident that the DepEd needs to intensify its efforts to generate more support and raise awareness about the need for classrooms. Students can only fully concentrate on their lessons when they have access to adequate classrooms and chairs, rather than being left with bare walls. While the government may not be able to allocate the desired P100 billion annually for classroom construction, where there is a will, there is a way. The current leadership at the DepEd has shown tremendous determination and resourcefulness in other areas, and they should apply the same energy and focus to address the classroom shortage.
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