ILOILO City – More than 14,000 additional classrooms are needed to provide a conducive learning environment for students in Western Visayas, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).
The National School Building Inventory for School Year 2022-2023 bared DepEd yesterday showed Region 6 with a total of 62,263 instructional classrooms — 40,147 for elementary schools, 14,956 for Junior High Schools, and 7,160 for Senior High Schools.
However, the inventory detailed that of the 62,263 classrooms, only 8,220 are in good condition. A significant number of classrooms require intervention – 127 are for completion, 316 are marked for condemnation or demolition, 11,365 need major repairs, and 11,551 require minor repairs.
“As of September 2024, we have a total of 14,000 classrooms more or less needed across Region 6. We have already submitted our needs assessment to the Central Office, but it all comes down to prioritization depending on the DepEd budget,” explained Dr. Leonerico Barredo, Chief Education Supervisor of DepEd Region 6’s Education Support Services Division.
The two School Division Offices (SDOs) with the highest number of required classrooms are Negros Occidental, which needs 7,837 classrooms, and Iloilo Province, which needs 1,600 classrooms.
DepEd-6 director Dr. Ramir Uytico acknowledged the shortage of classrooms but emphasized that efforts are ongoing to bring the matter to the attention of the Central Office, the House of Representatives, and the Senate.
“We are still very much lacking, and I attend every budget hearing in Congress and the Senate. The Education Support Services and our superintendents continually review our school building inventory. The Central Office looks into this, and the word is prioritization – even if there is a huge need, it still depends on the available funds,” Uytico said.
He further noted that budget allocation also considers the ownership of the land where classrooms are built. Many issues arise because DepEd does not own the land where some schools are located.
To address these challenges, Uytico called for assistance from Congress members, governors, and local chief executives (LCEs) to help the department in resolving the classroom shortage.
In Iloilo Province, Schools Division Superintendent Ernesto Servillon Jr. mentioned that they have partnered with private entities to help address the classroom deficit.
Additionally, local chief executives in the province, led by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., support efforts to build new classrooms and repair existing ones, she added.
The SDO-Iloilo Province is also maximizing other public spaces within school facilities to temporarily serve as classrooms.
For School Year 2024-2025, the Quick Count Enrollment data as of September 16, 2024, shows that a total of 1,930,178 learners are enrolled in both public and private schools in Region 6. The breakdown is as follows:
* public schools – 1,727,920 learners
* private schools – 176,480 learners
* State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) / Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) – 3,097 learners
* Alternative Learning System – 22,681 learners
Region 6 is composed of 21 School Division Offices, overseeing a total of 5,037 schools, including 4,057 public schools, 968 private schools, and 12 schools under SUCs and LUCs./PN
