At Nagpayong Elementary School in Pasig City, classes for 5-year-old kindergarteners start at 6 a.m., requiring them to wake as early as 5 a.m. Due to classroom shortages, the school operates two shifts, limiting teaching time and affecting children's development. This reflects a nationwide issue, with 2,223 schools using multiple shifts in School Year 2023-2024.
When Pepito Cagunot Jr. began teaching at Nagpayong Elementary School (NES) in Pasig City in 1999, the school faced severe classroom shortages, holding three shifts daily. By 2006, classes were even held in hallways. Now, with 11,618 students for School Year 2025-2026 and only 152 classrooms, it operates two shifts: morning from 6 a.m. and afternoon from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Cagunot, a 26-year veteran, attributes the overcrowding to family migration to the metropolis. Fellow teacher Apple Joy Cateria, with 20 years at NES, notes that learning quality suffers from limited contact time. “Nale-less ‘yung learning ng bata. Pero halimbawa, kinabukasan naman, kung ano ‘yung hindi namin naturo, ‘yun ang tinuturo. Kina-catch up pa rin namin ‘yung hindi namin naituro,” she said. (The students’ learning is reduced. But, for example, the next day, whatever we weren’t able to teach, we make sure to cover it. We still catch up on the lessons we missed.)
The morning shift covers kindergarten, Grades 1, 3, and 6, while afternoon handles Grades 2, 4, and 5. “Ang epekto talaga, at a young age, kailangan nila gumising nang maaga, as early as 5 am,” Cagunot said. (The real effect is that, at such a young age, they have to wake up very early, as early as 5 a.m.) EDCOM 2 reports 2,223 schools used multiple shifts in 2023-2024, like Ciudad Nuevo de Naic National High School with six shifts.
The shortage has grown from 91,000 classrooms in 2022 to 165,000 now, despite 60,129 schools serving over 27 million students. The DPWH oversees construction amid corruption allegations, with classrooms costing P2.5-P3.8 million versus under P900,000 by NGOs. At P24 billion annual budget, resolution would take 20 years.
From 2026, DepEd will involve other agencies like the AFP Corps of Engineers. Pasig City is building a new high school facility to free space for elementary students. “Hopefully, sa agaran ay maitayo na ‘yung building kasi nga magkakaroon tayo ng isang shift na lang. Napakaganda ‘yun sa part ng bata at sa learning nila, at siyempre para sa mga teacher na rin,” Cagunot hopes. (Hopefully, the building will be constructed soon because we will only have just one shift. That would be very good for the children and their learning, and of course, for the teachers as well.) DepEd is also exploring leasing from closed private schools.