• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The newly-established Negros Island Region (NIR) faces a shortage of 6,298 classrooms and 877 new teachers, which the Department of Education attributes to the growing population.
Every year, there is an increase in the need for classrooms and teachers, disclosed Almyr Caesar Dequina, spokesperson of the Department of Education – NIR.
According to DepEd records, 1,295,463 learners are enrolled in the NIR for the school year 2025-2026.
Dequina said the Department of Education is finding ways to address the lack of classrooms. At the same time, he also lauded the school heads, teachers, and other stakeholders for finding solutions by converting available spaces into classrooms, or other open spaces, and the shifting schedule of classes.
We are doing everything we can to address the problem, he said.
Dequina justified the lack of 877 teachers in NIR as relatively small, compared to other regions in the country.
But we are fast tracking the hiring, he added.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara admitted that the deficit in number of classroom has been growing
“That is a factor of population growth,” Angara said.
To address the gap, Angara said the Department of Education (DepEd) is working to revive the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, which previously facilitated the construction of 12,000 to 15,000 classrooms.
Under that arrangement, classrooms would be built promptly, with payments spread over 10 years. He also noted that double and triple shifting of classes continue to plague public schools.*
