President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is stepping up efforts to address the country’s massive classroom shortage, beginning with the construction of 4,000 new learning spaces under a new partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and local government units.
On Wednesday, Marcos witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement allowing LGUs to take the lead in procuring and constructing classrooms, while DepEd sets standards, prepares designs, and provides funding support.
“Today, we formalized the partnership between the DepEd and the different provinces around the country and it is an effort to make sure that every Filipino student has a safe and decent classroom to learn in,” Marcos said.
The President acknowledged the scale of the challenge, citing a nationwide classroom shortage of about 145,000 units as of 2025.
“This is the gap that we must address urgently… Because we cannot wait another five or ten years to ensure that every student has a comfortable classroom,” he added, describing the previous system as “too slow” and in need of overhaul.
The initial tranche of the program was allotted ₱9.6 billion, including ₱4.1 billion for about 1,200 classrooms to be built by provincial governments and more than ₱5 billion for roughly 2,800 prefabricated units to be delivered by DepEd.
Under the broader 2026 national budget, ₱85.39 billion has been allocated for basic education facilities, underscoring the administration’s push to accelerate infrastructure development in the education sector.
Marcos promised “full transparency” and strict compliance checks, saying no classroom would be turned over without written validation from DepEd.
Beyond physical infrastructure, the President also highlighted digital connectivity as a priority, noting that nearly 34,000 public schools were now connected to the internet.
“For students, it means classrooms will be completed sooner… And for parents, this gives them peace of mind,” he said, calling the initiative a cornerstone of his education agenda.