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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House questions DepEd's plan to address classroom shortage

House questions DepEd's plan to address classroom shortage

Published Aug 18, 2025 07:41 pm

At A Glance

  • The House of Representatives has questioned the Department of Education's (DepEd) plan to
  • partner with the private sector in addressing the perennial problem of classroom shortage in the country.
The House of Representatives has questioned the Department of Education's (DepEd) plan to 

partner with the private sector in addressing the perennial problem of classroom shortage in the country.

The solons primarily wondered why the agency chose not to tap local government units' (LGU) Special Education Fund (SEF) to address the shortage.

During the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture hearing Monday, Aug. 18, DepEd presented its plans to address the shortage of 165,000 classrooms in the country.

This included the launch of public-private partnerships (PPP), utilizing the Basic Educational Facilities Fund (BEFF), lease contracts, partnerships with LGUs and national government agencies and the expansion of the voucher program.

DepEd said the proposal could immediately address the classroom shortage as different members of the private sector across the country could work simultaneously to build the facilities.

The agency's limited budget won't be a problem since it could pay the private partners in an installment basis.

But Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Leviste as well as Pasig lone district Rep. Roman Romulo--the committee chairperson--were quick to point out that the agency could consider tapping LGU SEF first.

Since school superintendents are under DepEd, the agency has firsthand knowledge about classroom necessity all over the country.

The solons said DepEd should exhaust the SEF, especially in areas where school buildings are most needed.

“You should call on your superintendents. Tanungin nyo sa kanila kung ano nga ba talaga ang problema (You ask them what’s really the problem),” Romulo suggested

“Kung alam ninyo kulang na classroom, may classroom shortage sa lugar niyo, bakit hindi niyo pinapagamit yung SEF. Ngayon, kung may issue doon, ano ang issue, baka (If you’ve found out there’s a classroom shortage, just use SEF. If there’s any issue with it maybe) we have to amend the law,” he added.

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