NCR, Calabarzon, BARMM top regions with classroom shortage —DepEd

Department of Education (DepEd) is implementing a comprehensive multi-modal strategy to tackle the nation's severe classroom shortage, which currently stands at an estimated 165,000. 

According to DepEd Undersecretary for Strategic Management Dr. Ronald U. Mendoza, the agency faces an urgent requirement to keep the deficit from expanding.

Based on the School Year 2022-2023 enrolment and existing inventory, DepEd identified the top 3 regions with classroom shortage as Region IV-A (Calabarzon), 31,002 classrooms; National Capital Region (NCR), 24,874 classrooms; and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), 13,237 classrooms.

The concentration in Calabarzon and NCR is primarily due to the in-migration of young families and workers seeking opportunities in areas rich with economic zones, DepEd said.

As for the provinces, the top 3 facing classroom shortage are: Cavite (8,832 classrooms);  Rizal (8,516 classrooms); and Laguna (7,589 classrooms.)

The shortage is not evenly distributed, with high-growth, economically active regions and provinces bearing the brunt of the deficit due to high in-migration. Luzon accounts for 54% of the total national shortage.

"The classroom equivalent of each batch of learners entering into DepEd is about 11,000 classrooms a year," Mendoza stated during a session of the Public-Private Partnerships and Leveraging Investments in Education” at the 63rd Annual Meeting and Conference of the Philippine Economic Society in Makati City on Friday. 

He added that to reduce the backlog, "we must build faster than 11,000 at least, and definitely we must build faster than 11,000 plus the classrooms damaged by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and typhoons".

He stressed the urgency, noting, "So it didn't take us a lot of time to figure out that we need to have a really solid long-term game plan".

Strategies

To counter the deficit, DepEd has moved beyond conventional construction to activate a six-pronged strategy aiming for a total of over 128,700 classrooms in the medium term. This approach, excluding the new leasing modality, includes:

-Massive PPP Program (PSIP III, IV, and V): The core of the strategy is to produce 105,000 classrooms through Public-Private Partnerships from 2026 to 2031. The first wave, PSIP III, targets 15,000 classrooms across key Luzon regions, including I, II, III, IV-A, IV-B, V, CAR, and NCR.

-Conventional procurement: A target of 12,000 classrooms is set through the traditional government budget for 2026 to 2028.

-Vouchers for Elementary Schools: Allocating resources for 2,500 classrooms by tapping into the private sector. This involves filling "empty chairs in the private schools" to utilize private sector slack and reduce crowding in public schools.

-Donations: The agency projects securing 4,500 classrooms through various donor organizations between 2026 and 2028.

-Negotiated Procurement: An estimated 3,000 classrooms are planned through partnerships with civil society organizations (CSOs) like Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation and Angat Buhay.

-4+1 Blended Learning: A major pedagogical innovation, the 4+1 blended learning model (four days face-to-face, one day home-based) is being introduced to provide flexibility. Though its contribution to the classroom count is unquantified, the model is designed to maximize existing spaces and minimize learning loss caused by frequent school closures. 

Mendoza emphasized that the future system must be flexible and locally driven. 

"It cannot be a cookie-cutter na lahat kayo 4 plus 1. Lahat kayo face to face. Lahat kayo floating classroom. It cannot be like this," he asserted.

The solution, he concluded, lies in decentralization supported by technology. 

"That is why DepEd is going granular and is decentralizing," he said, adding that a digitalized system will give the agency "the ability to make things very granular and very tailor fit to the situation." —LDF, GMA Integrated News