Education Secretary Sonny Angara warned that delays in infrastructure and limited digital access continue to constrain learning opportunities for millions of Filipino students, urging business leaders to play a central role in addressing the country's 165,000-classroom shortage and modernizing public schools.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara highlighted the education challenges during a speech at the leadership forum of the Philippine Business for Education in Makati, stating that the scale and urgency of the crisis require deeper collaboration between government and industry. He explained that the Department of Education (DepEd) is pursuing large-scale public-private partnerships (PPP) to accelerate classroom construction and enhance school infrastructure. “PPP is the bridge between urgency and execution. We invite the private sector not as donors, but as co-architects of national development,” Angara said, noting that these partnerships are expected to deliver up to 106,000 classrooms in the coming years as part of a broader plan to address the nationwide deficit. According to Angara, traditional government procurement for classroom projects can take two to seven years, whereas PPP arrangements can reduce delivery times to as little as one to two years by streamlining approvals and consolidating procurement processes. He mentioned that DepEd has obtained approval for building an initial 16,000 classrooms under the latest phase of its PPP program, focusing on areas with the most acute shortages. Simultaneously, Angara said the department is implementing a nationwide digital transformation initiative to provide schools with connectivity, devices, and modern educational technology. “We are embedding technology into the core of our system to ensure that Filipino learners are prepared for the future,” he stated. He pointed to DepEd’s collaboration with Khan Academy, which now aids over 2,800 public schools across the country. This effort has boosted student performance in mathematics and allowed teachers to save time on lesson preparation, illustrating the value of digital tools in improving learning outcomes. Angara emphasized that private sector involvement is essential for providing technical expertise, innovation, and efficient project execution. “Education has always been a shared responsibility. But today, it must also be a shared investment. This is a nation-building strategy,” he added. Representatives from key business and professional organizations attended the forum, including the Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Constructors Association, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, and Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc.