The lack of school infrastructure and facilities remains the “most pressing issue“ being faced by the country’s education sector, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said on Monday, Jan. 30.
Speaking during her presentation of the Basic Education Report (BER) 2023, Duterte stressed the need to build and repair schools so that the growing number of Filipino learners nationwide will be accommodated.
Citing the Department of Education’s (DepEd) latest data, she revealed only 104,536 out of the 327,851 school buildings in the Philippines are in “good condition.”
Furthermore, there are also 100,072 schools that need minor repairs, 89,252 that require major repairs, and 21,727 that are set for condemnation.
At present, more than 28 million Filipino learners are enrolled in both public and private schools nationwide.
“The Department is not blind to the reality that there is a need to build, repair, and maintain school infrastructures to accommodate the growing number of learners all over the Philippines,” the Vice President and DepEd chief said.
In her report, Duterte also noted the “significant roadblocks” with regard to infrastructure, among which are earthquakes, typhoons, landslides, flooding, and even armed conflict.
“Our schools are not calamity-proof,” she said, citing that 17,263 classrooms that were damaged by Typhoon “Odette” last year in the Visayas region alone “are still subject for repair and replacement.”
READ: DepEd identifies challenges in basic education through BER 2023
“We need P9.82 billion for the repair and replacement of Odette-damaged classrooms in the Visayas. For 2023, the department has allocated a total of P15.6 billion for new construction,” she said.
The official presented the DepEd’s Basic Education Report for 2023 at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City, with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as keynote speaker during the event.
Also in attendance were Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Pia Cayetano, and Sherwin Gatchalian, Pasig City Lone District Rep. Roman Romulo, as well as Ambassadors Laura Beaufils of the United Kingdom and Huang Xilian of China.
On Monday, Duterte was firm on her promise not to leave teachers behind, saying that they are critical to the success of education.
“Our teachers, they are the lifeblood of the Department of Education. Without our teachers, our mission to carve a better future for our children will fail,” Duterte said.
According to the Vice President, the teachers must be supported for their teaching methods and the quality of Philippine education to improve.
She mentioned some of her plans for educators that include professional development programs, graduate degree scholarship programs, focusing on their learning area specialization, and graduate certificate programs for non-majors.
“We will provide support in terms of innovative, responsive, and inclusive teaching approaches following the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST),” Duterte said.
“We will provide training and other learning and development interventions for school leaders, namely the school heads, supervisors, superintendents, and assistant superintendents, so they can better support our teachers to teach better,” she added.