By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
Ilonggo lawyer and newly appointed Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Peter Irving Corvera has pledged to address the classroom shortages in Western Visayas by bringing the issue to the attention of the education secretary.
Corvera, who served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Central Philippine University from 2011 to 2017, plans to compile data on classroom shortages across the region and submit it to DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara.
In a radio interview, Corvera emphasized that resolving the classroom shortage is a priority of the current administration.
He stressed that the persistent problem of classroom shortages has led to multiple shifts in schools, which is detrimental to students’ learning experiences.
He also suggested revisiting the Public-Private Partnership scheme to allow private players to help fund additional classrooms.
Data from the Basic Education Learning Continuity and Recovery Plan of DepEd-6 showed that as of March last year, the region requires over 13,000 additional classrooms to address the existing gap in educational facilities.
In Iloilo alone, superintendent Ernesto Servillon Jr. reported that as of last year, the province needs 1,652 classrooms across its five congressional districts.
During a briefing in March this year, Servillon mentioned that the government has allocated P1.041 billion through the General Appropriations Act for the construction of 160 classrooms in the province.
As of August 1, DepEd-6 reported a total enrollment of 1,750,633 students for the 2024-2025 school year. This includes 928,618 elementary students, 545,222 junior high students, and 276,793 senior high students.
