ILOILO City – As over 1.1 million students are expected to return to public schools in Western Visayas this Monday, June 16, the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 6 faces a daunting challenge: not enough classrooms and teachers to meet the surge.
Based on the latest data from the National School Building Inventory as of July 2024, the region – covering Panay Island and Guimaras – has only 58,756 classrooms, which falls significantly short of demand.
DepEd-6 information officer Hernani Escullar Jr. said the region is grappling with an estimated shortage of 11,000 to 12,000 classrooms, including those in Negros Occidental.
“It is a fact that we lack instructional classrooms,” Escullar admitted. “But our school heads are ready to implement measures to ensure that students can still attend in-person classes.”
Among the stopgap measures are multi-shifting schedules, temporary learning spaces, and alternative delivery modes for students unable to join face-to-face sessions.
Classroom shortages are not unique to Western Visayas, Escullar added.
“This is a nationwide problem,” he said, noting that DepEd-6 is coordinating with the Central Office for increased funding to construct more classrooms.
Some Schools Division Offices (SDOs) have also partnered with local government units (LGUs) for financial and logistical support to build additional school facilities, he said.
Under DepEd guidelines, the recommended class size per classroom is 30 learners for Kindergarten; 35 for Grades 1 to 3; 45 for Grades 4 to 10; and 40 for Senior High School.
Teacher shortage compounds the problem
On top of the classroom gap, the region also lacks enough teaching personnel. Currently, only 40,742 teachers are authorized for deployment in Western Visayas by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and DepEd Central Office.
Hiring additional teachers without DBM clearance is not permitted.
While some vacancies are addressed through immediate hiring, Escullar said many SDOs turn to LGUs to fund temporary teaching positions.
Hope is on the horizon, however, with DepEd secretary Sonny Angara announcing the nationwide hiring of 16,000 new teachers.
“We’re waiting for confirmation on how many will be allocated to our region,” Escullar said.
Learning materials not a major concern
Despite the infrastructure and manpower gaps, Escullar assured that learning materials for this school year are sufficient.
Early registration held from January 15 to February 15 enabled DepEd-6 to estimate resource needs. So far, 276,528 learners from Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 7, and Grade 11 have registered.
The regional office projects around 1.1 million enrollees across Kindergarten to Grade 12 this academic year.
“We’re doing our best to achieve a one-to-one ratio of learning materials per student,” Escullar said.
As schools prepare to welcome back students, DepEd-6 hopes that with the support of local governments and flexible school-level strategies, the region can deliver uninterrupted and quality basic education despite lingering resource constraints./PN
