By Manila Bulletin
Published Aug 16, 2025 12:05 am
Every school year opens with the same grim picture: children learning in cramped spaces, some sitting on the aisles for lack of chairs, others shuffling between double or even triple class shifts, and students in campus open spaces where seats are clustered to indicate different classrooms.
According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) report, 5.1 million students are now “aisle learners” — a stark symptom of the 165,000-classroom shortage confirmed by the Department of Education (DepEd). And that figure does not even count thousands of old, and disaster-damaged rooms that no longer meet basic standards.
At the current pace of construction, the backlog will take some 30 to 55 years to erase, Education Secretary Sonny Angara had warned months ago. By then, an entire generation of students will have gone through school without ever seeing a properly equipped, uncrowded classroom.
This is more than an infrastructure backlog; it is an education crisis that robs children of the time, comfort, and environment they need to learn.
The consequences are severe. When 50 to 70 students are squeezed into a room built for 40, the teacher’s ability to focus on individual learners disappears. Double and triple shifts shorten instructional hours, affecting mastery of basic skills. Poor ventilation and overcrowding expose students to illness.
How did we get here? The problem has been swelling for years. In 2013, the shortage stood at around 55,000. Twelve years later, it has nearly tripled. Rapid population growth, especially in urban and high-migration areas like NCR, CALABARZON, Region XII, and BARMM, has outpaced construction. Disasters, which routinely damage or destroy classrooms, further strain the system.
Secretary Angara has called for a whole-of-society approach to address the backlog. This means bringing in local governments, NGOs, and the private sector. LGUs can tap their Special Education Fund, while private partners can join through Public-Private Partnerships or the Adopt-a-School Program. Senate Bill No. 121, the proposed Classroom-Building Acceleration Program, seeks to authorize such partnerships with national government support.
Equally important is the call to “build smarter.” DepEd’s new classroom master plan uses demographic trends, site data, and congestion mapping to target where buildings are most needed. The designs themselves are adapting to reality: flood-resilient, stilted classrooms for coastal towns; elevated, storm-resistant rooms for typhoon-prone Bicol; reinforced concrete roofs for durability. These are not luxuries but necessities in a country battered by over 20 tropical cyclones a year.
Still, speed and transparency will decide success. This means flexible contracting rules to avoid delays when the DPWH is diverted to disaster response. It means clear cost standards to prevent price padding. And it means a centralized public dashboard to track projects, budgets, and completion rates — a safeguard against waste and corruption.
The classroom shortage cannot be solved by government alone. Businesses, civic groups, alumni associations, and faith-based organizations all have a role to play. The reward is tangible: every new, safe, and functional classroom built is a direct investment in the country’s future workforce and citizens.
Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino points out the irony: condominiums and casinos can rise in months, yet classrooms take years. The difference is in priority, urgency, and the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks.
No nation can claim to value education while millions of its children learn in aisles or shifts. Every year we delay, millions of Filipino children pay the price — in hours of lost learning, in diminished skills, and in a future where they are less prepared.
