‘Practically begging:’ District rep rues meager DepEd funds for new classrooms

MANILA, Philippines — Days after the Department of Education cited progress in solving classroom shortages, a House representative vented his fury at being given just enough funds in his poverty-stricken district to build 13 new classrooms out of a backlog of over 700.

Interjecting during a House hearing on the K to 12 program, a visibly frustrated Rep. Adrian Amatong (Zamboanga del Norte, 3rd District) called out DepEd for its “unfair” allocation of funds for new school infrastructure, stressing that there needs to be enough classrooms first before adjusting the curriculum.

“Usec. Densing, I came to you last year practically begging to provide funds for my district,” Amatong said, addressing Epimaco Densing, DepEd’s official in charge of school infrastructure.

“I begged you, with 55% of my constituents living below the poverty threshold, we need classrooms so students can study well and they can succeed and pull their families up. But you give us how many (school buildings)? Seven? How is that fair?” the Zamboanga Del Norte lawmaker said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Both Amatong and Rep. Jaime Fresnedi (Muntinlupa City) raised the issue of inadequate school infrastructure during the House panel’s deliberation on a bill that aims to improve senior high school graduates’ employability, saying that DepEd has failed to catch up on the worsening classroom shortage after the implementation of K to 12.

Amatong said: “We want to assess our students based on what program, but we may be forgetting that many of these students cannot listen (in class). This is not an issue of program alone.” 

The lack of classrooms has plagued the education sector for years and across different DepEd secretaries, posing a hindrance to teachers and school officials' various efforts to improve students' learning through adjustments in curriculum and teaching. 

Classrooms needed for ‘equal shot’ at life

Amatong told Philstar.com that for 2024, the third district of Zamboanga del Norte, which he represents, was allocated funding for just six new school buildings, including 13 new classrooms.  

The lawmaker said the budget given barely plugs the classroom shortage in his district, which hovers around 704 to 794, based on the estimates of a DepEd engineer who spoke to him.

This is on top of 1,000 classrooms that need repairs, Amatong added. 

Public budget documents show that the whole province of Zamboanga del Norte was given P85 million for the construction of new school buildings in 2024.

Amatong said that he could not help but bring up DepEd’s classroom shortage problem during a hearing on the K to 12 curriculum given the dire situation of residents in his district, whom he said were deprived of education opportunities for years due to the peace and order situation there.

The third district of Zamboanga Del Norte also houses the poorest municipalities in the province and grapples with low literacy rates, according to a 2021 study published in the Social Science Research Network.

“I brought it up because you cannot assess the effect of the curriculum if you don’t consider the classroom. Imagine if 60 students are crowding inside a single room — their learning will be different to a class of 30 students,” Amatong said.

Amatong said during the hearing: “Education is supposed to give people an equal shot at succeeding in life. But you're practically killing my constituents by not providing funds for adequate classrooms.”

Fresnedi also raised the need for DepEd to furnish the basic education panel with a report that details each district’s need for new classrooms.

DepEd’s perennial classroom problem

Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte said during the department’s second Basic Education Report last week that the department constructed 3,673 new classrooms in 2023 — just half of the target it set for itself the previous year.

Duterte admitted that DepEd has “made progress” on building new classrooms, but it was still “not enough.”

DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas said a month before the start of the school year or in August 2023 that public schools were short of around 159,000 classrooms.

DepEd was given P17 billion to construct new school buildings in the 2024 budget, up from the previous year's P15.6 billion.

Amatong said that the department needs to come up with a regular annual program that allocates enough funding for new school infrastructure, highlighting that several districts beyond Zamboanga Del Norte are in dire need of new classrooms. 

“Why can we give the cities and provinces billions for major projects, but we cannot give our schools classrooms?” the lawmaker said.

“We need an actual program, and not where I have to complain first before being given funds,” Amatong added.