Educational Term 2025-2026 commences officially
Fresh Start:
Millions of students returned to school on June 16, 2025, marking the commencement of School Year 2025-2026. From preschool to senior high, students in both public and private institutions across the nation were ready to learn. However, concerns over classroom shortages, particularly in densely populated areas like Metro Manila, persist.
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara estimated that the country is lackluster in around 165,000 classrooms, necessitating schools to adopt shift-based learning or hybrid arrangements. Angara anticipated that addressing this classroom shortage would require approximately 30 years with the current budget allocation for the education sector. Nevertheless, other education officials estimated that it could take up to 55 years to eradicate the backlog in classroom construction.
In an effort to alleviate this issue, DepEd is actively seeking alternative solutions, including public-private partnerships (PPP). PPP could accelerate the construction process without overwhelming the education budget by engaging private entities to build classrooms and lease them to the government.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) took proactive measures to ensure safety during the return to school. Homicide, theft, and bullying were identified as major concerns, with scammers targeting students and criminals potentially exploiting educational facilities. PNP deployed 37,740 police personnel across the country to safeguard learners and educators in 45,974 public and private schools.
The term of School Year 2025-2026 runs from June 16 to March 31, 2026, encompassing 197 school days and end-of-year celebrations.
Classroom Shortage Solutions in the Philippines
- Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Model: Engaging private entities to expedite classroom construction through leasing agreements can effectively scale up infrastructure without overburdening the education budget.
- Heightened Budget Allocation for Infrastructure: Boosting investments in new construction and repair of existing facilities is vital to confronting the ongoing classroom shortage.
- Accelerated Classroom Construction: Advocacy from educator groups like the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) urges a more urgent approach: constructing 50,000 classrooms annually until 2028 to match growing enrollment and reduce shortages.
- Adaptive Learning Environments: With classroom shortages persisting, schools are adopting temporary measures such as double or triple shifts, makeshift classrooms, and blended learning models to adapt to current infrastructure limitations.
- Despite the estimated 30-55 years it might take to eradicate the classroom shortage in the Philippines with the current budget allocation for education, Efforts to expedite the construction process through public-private partnerships (PPP) could offer a promising solution.
- As Metro Manila faces classroom shortages, education officials are advocating for an increased budget allocation towards new construction and repair of existing facilities to promptly address the issue.
- In a bid to adapt to the ongoing classroom shortage, schools in densely populated areas like Metro Manila are turning to temporary measures such as double or triple shifts, makeshift classrooms, and blended learning models to provide education-and-self-development opportunities for students despite the general-news concerns surrounding an inadequate learning environment.
