Classroom shortage in Metro Manila due to lack of buildable space – DepEd

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday maintained that there are enough classrooms for the opening of classes next month.

According to a report aired on GMA News' “24 Oras” on Monday evening, DepEd Assistant Secretary Tonisito Umali said more than 66,800 classrooms were built nationwide before 2013 ended.

The DepEd said that, for school year 2012-2013, it achieved a national average classroom to student ratio of 1:40 for elementary and 1:50 for high school.

However, DepEd records also show that, for the same school year, the classroom to student ration was 1:75 for elementary and 1:74 for high school in Metro Manila.

Umali said the classroom shortage in Metro Manila is due to the lack of “buildable spaces”.

“There are no buildable spaces, maski i-umpog natin ang ulo natin wala ho tayong magagawa dahil hindi tayo makapagpatayo ng silid aralan,” Umali said in a press conference.



In Batasan National High School in Quezon City, for example, there are 12,600 students who will have to share 98 classrooms this coming school year.

To address the shortage,  41 of the bigger classrooms were split into two using plywood partitions.

The school will also implement a four-shift schedule where two classes, composed of 45 students each, will have to share one classroom in the morning. Two more classes will share the same classroom in the afternoon.

Umali said they are in communication with the local government units in Metro Manila as well as with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to find available lots where more schools can be built.

Umali pointed out that constructing additional floors in existing classroom buildings is not the ideal solution in addressing the shortage as the foundations of most of these buildings can only handle two floors.

He said DepEd will also continue the implementation of its Open High School System (OHSP), or the home-based study program for high school students.

For Metro Manila, the DepEd will also continue the implementation of the in-school, off-school approach, or the combination of home study and classroom study for high school students. — Elizabeth Marcelo/JDS, GMA News