Department of Education officials have noted that construction delays and unfinished projects have worsened classroom overcrowding, forcing many schools to operate on double or triple shifts and limiting the full implementation of the K-12 curriculum.
According to DepEd data, Calabarzon has the highest classroom shortage with 31,002, followed by the National Capital Region with 24,847, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with 13,237.
Luzon accounts for 54 percent of the classroom shortage, estimated at 165,443, and other regions with shortages are Regions 3, 7, 10, 11, 12, 5, and 9.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara has sought the help of local government units to address the country’s 165,000-classroom shortage, discussing the matter with League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) president and San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora.
The Economic Development Council, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., had approved Phase 3 of the Public-Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project, which forms part of broader reforms to speed up classroom construction and improve governance in school infrastructure.
The project complements nearly 24,000 classrooms already programmed for 2026 under the national budget, as well as initiatives allowing LGUs to construct school buildings.
The DepEd plans to build 105,000 classrooms from 2026 to 2031 under a build-lease-and transfer scheme.
The country’s sizable classroom backlog, which would easily be one of the most glaring causes and symptoms of the ongoing learning crisis, will need the cooperation of all sectors if it is going to be addressed any time soon. The DepEd, local governments, and private partnerships may be able to erase the deficit, but with a growing population, construction of classrooms, as well as quality teachers, has to be able to meet the demand.
The effort to build more classrooms is laudable, but it is only a start of a long and arduous path for the country’s embattled educational system that has no choice but to catch up with the rest of the world.*
