In Metro Manila and other urban areas, building new classrooms is no longer feasible due to lack of space. An opinion piece argues that school congestion, rather than just the 165,000 classroom backlog as of 2025, needs addressing to improve learning environments.
As of 2025, the Department of Education (DepEd) faces a 165,000 classroom backlog that could take 30 to 55 years to address, requiring nearly P397 billion in funding. However, in the National Capital Region (NCR), Calabarzon, and Central Luzon, the core issue is not merely a shortage of classrooms but school congestion driven by high population density and limited space.
For instance, Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City has relied on multi-shift classes for 15,000 learners for years because there is no buildable space left. While infrastructure investments are crucial in areas with available land, such as parts of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, they are impractical in urban centers where every square meter is occupied by housing, businesses, and roads.
Alternatives include the Government Assistance to Private Education (GASTPE) program, which provides vouchers to shift students to private schools with capacity. Recently, the House committee passed the Private Education Voucher Assistance Bill to extend it to Kindergarten through Grade 6. According to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, this approach is more cost-effective and faster than building new classrooms, each costing around P2.5 million and taking 3-5 years to complete.
Vouchers for 40 students cost P520,000 to P900,000 per school year, immediately freeing up space. With 2 million beneficiaries, it could liberate 44,000 classrooms in congested public schools. Additionally, DepEd is exploring leasing properties to convert into learning spaces, offering a lower-cost, immediate relief.
"We need to move beyond an infrastructure-only mindset and adopt demand-driven solutions," writes author Luigie Lursh G. Almojano, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and convenor of the Student First Coalition. This multi-faceted strategy could better tackle poor learning environments in public schools.