Over P500B needed to build, repair classrooms – DepEd

THE Department of Education (DepEd) would need over P398 billion to build 159,202 classrooms to address the shortage in the country’s public education sector, and another P113 billion to repair 174,824 classrooms.

DepEd data also shows it would need another P6 billion to connect 2,001 schools to the electricity grid and P9.2 billion to give internet access to 18,325 schools nationwide.

Last year, then DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas said classroom shortage in public schools hit 159,000, up from the previous year’s 91,000.

Upon assuming the top DepEd post last month, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara promised “dramatic” actions to address the classroom shortage in public schools.

“It’s about 159,000 kung hindi ako nagkakamali, ‘yung classroom backlog natin. Ang problema dyan nagdadagdag tayo every year. Because of the population increase, nagdagdag ‘yun by 12,000 a year, eh ang nako-construct natin halos 2,000 lang a year (If I recall correctly, the classroom backlog stood at about 159,00. The problem here is that the backlog grows by 12, 000 every year because of the population increase, and we are only able to construct almost 2, 000 classrooms every year),” Angara has said.

“So, we need to do something dramatic here and tingin ko, pag-aaralan natin ‘yung sinasabi nilang standard sa construction (We need to study the standard in the construction of classrooms),” he added.

Under the proposed 2025 National Expenditure Program, the DepEd is targeting the construction of 6,000 new classrooms worth P15 billion; repair and rehabilitation of 9,435 classrooms worth P6. 13 billion; provision of 18,035 sets of school furniture worth P2.6 billion; construction of 100 library hubs worth P1 billion; construction of four community learning centers worth P600 million; provision of priority school health facilities to 333 school sites worth P500 million; construction of three medium-rise school buildings worth P2 billion; and provision and upgrading of electricity in 432 schools with a P1.3 billion budget.

At the House of Representatives, lawmakers said the “exemplary conduct” of Angara during the almost 12-hour budget hearing on the DepEd’s P793.18