Education Crisis Deepens Amid School Year 2025 Launch
As the School Year 2025–2026 officially begins, a teachers’ group has raised urgent alarms about a worsening education crisis. The country faces chronic shortages in classrooms, teachers, and learning materials, threatening the quality of education for millions of Filipino students.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) attributes this deepening education crisis to years of government neglect. They warn that without immediate reforms and a substantial boost in the education budget, millions of learners will continue to endure poor access to quality schooling.
Teachers Demand Government Accountability
Members of ACT staged a sunrise protest at Mendiola to highlight the “dismal state” of public schools nationwide. They criticized the current administration for what they called “chronic neglect,” which has led to worsening education quality and deteriorating school facilities.
Teachers and parents transformed Mendiola into a symbolic classroom. They placed monobloc chairs and held cleaning supplies to underline how communities are forced to fill gaps left by insufficient government support.
Ongoing Burden on Teachers and Students
ACT Chairperson Vladimer Quetua explained that both teachers and students face another school year underfunded and under-resourced. Quetua emphasized that teachers often bear the extra workload—from cleaning classrooms to repairing facilities and providing for students’ needs.
“We bear the brunt of this systemic neglect, and today’s protest is our call for the government to finally carry the heavier burden it owes to Filipino learners and educators,” Quetua said.
Severe Shortages Impact Education Quality
The group revealed that the country lacks around 165,000 classrooms, a deficit that could take 30 to 55 years to fix given current investment levels. This shortage forces many schools to use double or triple shifts, makeshift classrooms, and blended learning methods that compromise education quality.
According to DepEd data, over 56,000 teaching positions remain unfilled. However, ACT estimates that more than 150,000 teachers are needed to reduce class sizes to the global standard of 35 students per class. Meanwhile, a recent national survey found that about 18 million basic education graduates are functionally illiterate.
Long-Term Solutions Still Ignored
Quetua stressed that the severity of shortages demands a more ambitious long-term plan. In 2023, ACT called for the government to hire 25,000 new teachers annually until 2028 to address shortages, plus an extra 5,000 each year to keep pace with growing enrollment.
The group also urged the administration to build 50,000 classrooms annually until 2028 to clear the backlog. Unfortunately, these requests were dismissed as unrealistic while significant funds were reportedly spent elsewhere.
Calls for Transparency and Reform
ACT leaders and representatives have launched “Bisita Eskwela” in Metro Manila to assess school conditions firsthand and gather accounts from educators and communities. Meanwhile, the group expressed concern over reports that some education officials are allegedly instructing teachers to avoid media interviews and urging discretion when discussing school issues.
ACT warns this could create a false impression of readiness and hide the true extent of shortages, undermining public accountability and restricting teachers’ freedom of expression.
“We can only solve our deep-seated problems by acknowledging them and compelling the government to act decisively,” Quetua emphasized. “It is high time to double the education budget and end the long-standing state neglect of our education system.”
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