Angara says more classrooms to be built

EDUCATION Secretary Sonny Angara said 15,000 classrooms would be built in 2027 via the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

Angara presented the plan to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a meeting in Malacañang following the signing of the technical assistance agreement with the PPP Center in December last year.

The PPP School Infrastructure Project, estimated to cost between P37.5 billion to P60 billion, would benefit around 600,000 students nationwide.

«The classroom gap is a massive challenge, but we believe that leveraging private investments through PPPs is the most efficient and sustainable way to address this,» Angara said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Education Department was grappling with a 165,000-classroom backlog.

The plan to digitize and solarize schools was scheduled to be rolled out by the middle of 2026.

«With a combination of strategic partnerships and digital investments, DepEd is committed to bridging both the classroom and digital divides to create a future-ready education system producing competitive and highly employable graduates,» Angara said.