DepEd Taps LGUs to Tackle Nationwide Classroom Shortage

MANILA, Philippines — All local government units (LGUs) have been tapped by the Department of Education (DepEd) in efforts to address the nationwide classroom shortage estimated at 144,000. At a hearing of the Senate committee on basic education, DepEd Undersecretary for legal and legislative affairs Filemon Ray Javier said the agency is implementing long-term structural solutions to address the classroom backlog. “Since Secretary Sonny Angara assumed office two years ago, it has been clear that one of his priorities is to address the shortage of classrooms across the country. For a problem of this magnitude, the solution must be both permanent and well-planned,” Javier said. Earlier, the Second Congressional Commission on Education or EDCOM 2 warned that the classroom shortage may be compounded by aging school buildings as 51,000 classrooms nationwide are likely to be condemned by 2028. “We assure the committee that we will deliver the promised classrooms at the soonest possible time. We need to undertake delicate and deliberate steps to ensure that the solution to this problem is permanent,” Javier said. He said that the partnership with LGUs is expected to expand as the project progresses. Of the P67.9-billion program allocation for this year, DepEd has mobilized P49.8 billion across multiple channels to deliver an initial batch of 14,601 new classrooms. Javier said that DepEd conducted systematic legal and technical validations, and reviewed over 47,972 original school site records to confirm buildable spaces and ownership to prevent delays.