The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Thursday pledged to start construction of 20,000 classrooms this 12 months to deal with the nationwide backlog of over 144,000.
This comes after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the agencies to streamline the implementation of the Basic Education Facilities Program (BEFP).
“The goal this 12 months is 20,000 classrooms, so so long as we’re near our goal, lets say that it’s been a historic 12 months by way of improvement,” Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara told reporters in a briefing.
“It’s a 2-year horizon, so between funding release and construction and completion, you’re talking about 2 years,” he added.
Under the agreement, DepEd will “provide a college infrastructure master list by the tip of May to discover priority schools, ensuring site readiness, and securing vital environmental clearances.”
Meanwhile, the DPWH will “manage all bidding and construction activities, conduct joint site validations, and ensure all buildings are fully functional and protected, including rectifying any non-conformities reported by DepEd.”
In line with Public Works Secretary Vivencio “Vince” B. Dizon, the 5,000 classrooms targeted this 12 months will undergo DPWH’s recent procurement process through livestreaming and a transparency portal.
“We’re doing the whole lot that we are able to to take care of transparency and make sure that the previous wrongdoings throughout the DPWH won’t occur again,” he told reporters in Filipino through the same briefing.
He added that the 4,000 classrooms for 2025 will probably be finished in September this 12 months. The DPWH previously reported completion of only 22 classrooms in October last 12 months.
“Without delay, we have now 3,000 ongoing constructions. Of which, 2,500 will probably be accomplished by June, and the rest will probably be finished by September,” he said.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) warned in February that the backlog could further widen because of 122,518 aging school buildings and the expected condemnation of over 51,000 classrooms by 2028.
“It would take a 10-year sustained spending program to actually address not only the classroom shortage but additionally the opposite systemic problems in education,” Mr. Angara said.
“This will not be the issue of Marcos’ administration alone. This will even be an issue for the following administration, so hopefully the following administration will probably be as committed as this one to addressing the issues in education,” he added. — Almira Louise S. Martinez