📷: senate.gov.ph
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, together with ACT Teachers Rep.-elect Antonio Tinio, today called on the Marcos administration to double the education budget allocation to 6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and drastically increase classroom construction to address the staggering 165,000 classroom shortage plaguing the Philippine education system.
According to the EDCOM II study, severe classroom congestion persists across the National Capital Region, CALABARZON, Region XII, and BARMM, with some areas showing 90% of elementary students enrolled in overcrowded schools with student-classroom ratios of at least 1:50.
Rep.-elect Tinio emphasized the urgent need for systemic reform in education funding and infrastructure development.
“The current budget allocation is clearly insufficient to address our education crisis. We need to double our commitment to education by allocating 6% of GDP to ensure we can build the classrooms our children desperately need,” Tinio said.
As can be remembered the Commission on Audit (COA) last year revealed that the Department of Education under former Secretary Sara Duterte completed only 192 classrooms out of a target of 6,379 rooms in 2023 – a dismal 3.01% completion rate.
“This is absolutely unacceptable. Habang may learning crisis na tayo, pinalala pa ng dating administrasyon ng DepEd ang sitwasyon ng ating mga estudyante,” Rep. Castro stated. “Sa dami ng pera na hawak niya noon kasama pa ang confidential funds, tapos ito lang ang nagawa niya? Saan niya ginastos ang mga pondong yun tapos may gana pang magalit kapag sinita siya?”
“Kawawa talaga ang mga estudyante noong panahon ni VP Duterte. Malala na nga ang learning crisis noon, pinalala pa niya. Now we’re seeing the devastating results of that neglect,” Rep. Castro added.
The lawmakers pointed out that even with declining fertility rates offering some relief, the Philippines could still lack 58,000 to 81,000 classrooms by 2040 if no new construction occurs after 2021. Current projections show it could take 55 years to resolve the classroom shortage under business-as-usual approaches.
“Sa aming pag-iikot sa Balik-Eskwela noong Lunes ay nakita natin amg matinding siksikan, ang kakulangan ng silid-aralan, at ang nakapapagod na shifting schedules na direktang bunga ng kapabayaan ng administrasyon.
Sa isang paaralan nga ay meron na silang mga “teachers hub” para sa blended learning, ang itsura ay parang call center o computer shop.
Ang sabi ay iinstitutionalize na raw ang ganitong blended setup, baka maging panakip na lang ito sa halip na magtayo ng mas maraming pasilidad para sa mga estudyante tulad ng classrooms.
As it is, we cannot allow another generation of Filipino children to suffer from overcrowded classrooms and inadequate learning environments. The Marcos administration must prioritize education infrastructure and dramatically increase annual classroom construction targets,” Rep. Castro emphasized.
The ACT Teachers representatives also criticized the previous administration’s handling of education funds, noting that despite having access to substantial budget and even confidential funds, the DepEd under Duterte’s leadership failed to deliver on basic infrastructure commitments.
“This is not just about numbers – this is about the future of our children. Every overcrowded classroom represents lost opportunities for quality education. We demand immediate action from the current administration to address this crisis with the urgency it deserves,” Rep.-elect Tinio concluded.
The lawmakers vowed to push for legislation that would mandate increased education spending and establish clear accountability mechanisms for education infrastructure projects to prevent future failures.#
