Sen. Bam Aquino said addressing the country’s classroom shortage will take at least seven years of sustained construction and well-managed spending, even with DepEd’s record P1.015 trillion budget for 2026.
The Department of Education continues to face a deficit of around 165,000 classrooms nationwide, and Aquino stressed that there is no quick fix to the problem.
With the expanded 2026 budget, DepEd aims to begin construction on about 25,000 classrooms, while previous joint DPWH-DepEd efforts reduced the backlog from 165,443 to 146,708.
Aquino emphasized that proper implementation, monitoring, and prioritization are crucial to ensure the budget effectively addresses education needs, including school feeding, textbooks, teacher hiring, and support for remote areas.
He assured that the Senate Committee on Basic Education remains committed to gradually closing the gap through consistent investment and careful spending.
Source: PhilNews24 | January 28, 2026
