Classroom shortage will take 20 years to solve with P24-B yearly budget, says DepEd exec

DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III (Screenshot from YouTube live)

It will take over two decades for the Department of Education (DepEd) to cover the country’s classroom backlog using "an average of P24 billion" annually. 

DepEd Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III had this to say during the House Committee on Appropriations' recent deliberation on the agency's proposed budget under the P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP). 

"When we made the projection, assuming a budget--an average of P24 billion a year until 2028, what we can cover is to zero out those students being taught under makeshift temporary learning spaces, or no classrooms at all by 2028 on the medium term," Densing told the committee, which is chaired by Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, last Aug. 30. 

"In the long term, it will take--with that average only [P24 billion]--it will take more than 20 years to be able to cover the shortage. Unless our population starts to depopulate," he said. 

DepEd's proposed budget for next year is P758.59 billion--a 5 percent increase from the current appropriated outlay. 

Of the amount, the budget for new classrooms is not even P24 billion, but only P19.6 billion--good for the construction of 7,879 new classrooms. 

The classroom shortage in the Philippines is pegged at 165,000. On top of this, some 189,000 school buildings are in need of either major or minor repairs, according to DepEd. 

The NEP is the precursor to the national budget. Depending on the deliberations in Congress, the solons may still augment the DepEd budget.