DepEd Advocates Road Access to Public Schools
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) is calling for a special provision in its 2026 construction budget to link all public school buildings with proper roads. This move aims to ensure safer and easier access for students and teachers.
DepEd’s proposal highlights the need for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and local government units to prioritize building access roads to public schools, especially in areas lacking proper routes. The department emphasized the importance of this initiative within its 2026 Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF), which finances classroom and facility construction.
Funding and Classroom Shortage Challenges
The 2025 General Appropriations Act allocated P28.06 billion to the BEFF. The fund has seen a sharp increase from P5.95 billion in 2022 and has consistently remained above P20 billion, peaking at P33.86 billion in 2024. Despite these growing funds, the country still faces a classroom shortage estimated at 165,000.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara warned that, at the current pace, it would take over 50 years to fill this gap. During a recent visit to Buenavista, Agusan Del Norte, he witnessed students crossing rivers and trekking mountains just to reach their schools.
“We can’t just keep building classrooms if there are no roads leading to them,” he said in Filipino.
Strategic Collaboration for Road Development
DepEd has formally proposed that DPWH include access road construction to schools in its programming and investment plans. The department cited DPWH’s existing collaborations with other agencies, such as the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program, Farm-to-Market Road Development Program, and Roads Leveraging Linkages of Industry and Trade, as successful examples of interagency coordination.
“If there are farm-to-market roads, then there should also be road-to-school routes,” Angara added.
This initiative highlights a vital step toward improving educational infrastructure by not only building classrooms but also ensuring students can safely reach these facilities.
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