TITLE: Visayas Schools Face 10,000 Classroom Shortage, Implement Double Shifts
Public schools across Central Visayas have been forced to implement double-shift schedules for the 2026-2027 academic year, a direct response to a staggering shortage of approximately 10,000 classrooms. The critical infrastructure deficit, announced by the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 7 at the opening of classes on Monday, June 8, aims to accommodate an estimated 1.6 million students despite severely constrained facilities.
This acute crisis jeopardizes the quality of education for hundreds of thousands of children, with Cebu province bearing the brunt of the shortfall, lacking 8,287 learning spaces. Bohol province faces a deficit of 1,713 classrooms, compelling schools throughout the region to adopt a system where students attend either morning or afternoon sessions, maximizing the use of limited and often precarious facilities. The ongoing reliance on such stop-gap measures underscores a systemic challenge that goes beyond mere logistical adjustments, threatening long-term educational outcomes.
The current predicament is not solely a matter of inadequate new construction but is significantly worsened by the lingering impact of natural disasters. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu and Typhoon Tino in November 2025 rendered numerous school buildings unsafe for occupancy, pushing an already strained system closer to its breaking point. Tomas Pastor, chief of the Education Support Services Division for DepEd Region 7, confirmed that rehabilitation efforts are still underway in many of these disaster-affected schools. "The schools that were affected by the earthquake, so far face-to-face classes are not yet fully implemented. Some are still shifting because there are buildings that have not been fully repaired," Pastor explained, highlighting the prolonged disruption.
Despite a record national allocation of P1.015 trillion under the 2026 General Appropriations Act for the Department of Education, with P51.45 billion specifically earmarked for Central Visayas, the construction of new classrooms has been painstakingly slow. Six months into 2026, not a single new DepEd-funded classroom project has broken ground in the region. This stark reality contrasts sharply with the urgent need on the ground.
Regional education officials attribute this delay to bureaucratic bottlenecks, specifically awaiting the release of priority project listings from the Central Office. This centralized approval process has left local authorities scrambling for immediate solutions, as the infrastructure backlog continues to grow while the academic year progresses. The disconnect between significant national budgetary provision and localized implementation has become a critical point of friction.
In response to the stalled national projects, the Cebu Provincial Government has taken proactive steps, accelerating its own classroom construction program. Utilizing its Special Education Fund, the province plans to build nearly 500 classrooms this year, aiming to mitigate the immediate impact of national project delays on its students. Provincial School Board secretary Christopher Baricuatro emphasized the necessity of this provincial initiative, stating that waiting for central government action would adversely affect learners. This localized effort, while substantial, represents only a fraction of the total classrooms needed across the province.
The existing infrastructure, even in operational schools, remains fragile and susceptible to further disruption. On the very first day of classes, an electrical fire at Sudtonggan Elementary School in Cebu damaged a classroom ceiling and rendered seven adjacent rooms unusable. This incident forced affected students into remote blended learning, further underscoring the constant threat of unforeseen events to an already tenuous learning environment. Such incidents highlight the pressing need not just for more classrooms, but for resilient and well-maintained facilities.
Despite the prevailing classroom shortage and delayed infrastructure projects, DepEd-7 officials maintain a generally positive outlook on the overall opening of classes. Regional Director Arturo Bayocot stated that schools were "in good shape" and "all students are contained in classrooms," pointing to the construction of Learning Continuity Spaces in earthquake-hit areas as a measure to ensure continued education. These temporary solutions, while providing immediate relief, are not intended as long-term substitutes for permanent structures.
Further illustrating the effort to manage existing resources, Dr. Helen D. Sabino, chief of the Policy, Planning and Research Division of DepEd 7, assured that the region continues to adhere to standard teacher-to-student ratios, ranging from 20-25 for kindergarten to 40-45 for Grades 4-10, to manage class sizes effectively. The region also boasts a high personnel filling rate of 96.86 percent as of mid-May 2026, suggesting that staffing, at least, is not as dire a concern as the physical facilities.
However, the start of the academic year also saw a lower-than-expected enrollment rate. DepEd Central Visayas recorded approximately 1.3 million learners during the opening, falling short of its 1.6 million target. Information Officer Amaryllis Villarmia noted that enrollment remains open, and figures are anticipated to rise as schools continue to process late enrollees. This disparity raises questions about accessibility and factors preventing timely registration.
Reasons for delayed enrollment vary, including student transfers, financial difficulties, late submission of school records, family-related concerns, relocation, and school zoning issues. DepEd 7 has established help desks under its "Oplan Balik Eskwela" program to address these and other concerns from parents and learners, reporting no major incidents during the initial days of classes. The program seeks to ensure every child is accounted for and assisted in their return to school.
The Department of Education has also rolled out a new trimester academic calendar for SY 2026-2027, a shift from the previous four-quarter system. Officials hope this new setup will help maximize instructional days and reduce disruptions, potentially assisting learners who might be struggling. For instance, school heads in Minglanilla Districts I and II expressed confidence that the trimester system would address long-standing reading difficulties among students, a critical area of focus for educational improvement.
The persistent classroom shortage in the Philippines is a long-standing challenge, exacerbated by rapid population growth and, historically, insufficient public investment in educational infrastructure. This chronic deficit often leads to overcrowded classrooms and the necessity of double shifts, which studies have shown can limit instructional time, reduce opportunities for extracurricular activities, and place additional strain on teachers and students. While these measures are necessary to accommodate the sheer volume of students, they rarely provide an optimal learning environment.
The current situation in Central Visayas highlights a familiar tension between robust national budgetary commitments and the sluggish pace of their translation into tangible local projects. The administrative hurdles involved in transferring funds from the national to the regional level, along with the subsequent procurement and construction processes, frequently create significant delays. This bureaucratic lag means that even when funds are allocated, the impact on the ground is often slow to materialize, leaving local governments to fill critical gaps.
Despite these adaptive strategies and the regional government's efforts, the fundamental issue of inadequate and damaged school infrastructure persists. The delay in national funding and the prolonged recovery from natural disasters have left Central Visayas schools in a precarious position, relying heavily on stop-gap measures like double shifts and temporary learning spaces to keep education moving forward. The challenge for DepEd in the coming months will be to bridge the gap between budgetary allocations and concrete classrooms, ensuring that the next generation of students has access to conducive and safe learning environments rather than merely contained spaces.