DepEd expects enrollment to reach 28 million for SY 2026-2027

The Department of Education (DepEd) is projecting between 26 million and 28 million students for School Year (SY) 2026–2027, which will begin on June 8, Assistant Secretary Jocelyn Andaya said on Saturday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Andaya said that with more than one million teaching and non-teaching personnel, public elementary and secondary schools have enough staff to handle the projected number of students.

“Marami po tayo ngayong mga bagong item… Ang tinitignan po natin dito ay sapat po ang ating magiging numero ng mga guro para ngayong school year… Kung ideal ang pag-uusapan, may kulang po tayo, pero meron din tayong schools na ang kanilang teachers ay more than enough,” Andaya said.

(We have many new items [positions] now… We think we will have a sufficient number of teachers for this school year… If we are talking about the ideal scenario, we do have a shortage, but we also have schools that have more than enough teachers.)

Andaya noted that with DepEd's workforce of more than one million personnel, the projected student-to-teacher ratio is 35:1 at the lower levels and 45:1 at the higher levels.

However, she said the ratio could be higher in urban areas, such as the National Capital Region, where it may range from 50:1 to 55:1.

Meanwhile, Andaya said DepEd's classroom backlog remains at 136,000.

“Marami tayong modes accelerating classroom construction kabilang ang public-private partnership, collaboration with LGUs at Adopt-a-School initiative,” Andaya said.

(We have many ways of accelerating classroom construction, including public-private partnerships, collaboration with LGUs, and the Adopt-a-School initiative.)

“Kasabay nito, inasahan din natin na matatapos ng DPWH ang mahigit 9,000 silid-aralan ngayong taon, kabilang dito ang mga bagong proyekto at mga naiwang backlog sa nakaraang taon,” she added.

(Along with this, we also expect the DPWH to complete over 9,000 classrooms this year, including new projects and backlogs carried over from previous years.)

Based on DepEd data for SY 2025-2026, the classroom-to-student ratios were 1:32 for elementary, 1:39 for junior high school, and 1:36 for senior high school.

Andaya said schools will use learning materials procured last year while awaiting the procurement and delivery of new textbooks.

“Last year, may mga na-deliver na po tayo kaya hindi pa po kumpleto, at ngayong taon ay minamadali na natin ang ating procurement… Habang wala pong mga libro talaga ang ating mga bata, ay meron naman po tayong tinatawag na supplementary learning materials at mga lesson activity sheets,” Andaya said.

(Last year, we already delivered some textbooks, so distribution is not yet complete, and this year we are expediting procurement. While our students do not yet have the new books, we do have supplementary learning materials and lesson activity sheets.)

According to DepEd's timeline, new textbooks are scheduled to be delivered in July. Andaya acknowledged that an ideal student-to-book ratio would be one textbook for every student. — Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/VBL, GMA News