AROUND 27 million students went back to school on Monday, June 16, 2025, as School Year 2025–2026 begins.
The Department of Education (DepEd) said this includes preschool to senior high school students in both public and private schools.
In some areas, especially in Metro Manila, overcrowding of students remains a concern due to classroom shortages.
DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara earlier said the country is lacking around 165,000 classrooms, which will require schools to implement class shifting or hybrid learning arrangements to accommodate the students.
He said it will take around 30 years to address the classroom shortage in the country, given the current budget for the education sector.
Other education officials, however, said it will take up to 55 years to completely eliminate the classroom construction backlogs.
Angara said the department is continuously looking for ways to address the classroom shortage, including through public-private partnerships.
Meanwhile, to ensure peace and order during the opening of classes, as well as the safety of students and teachers, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Nicolas Torre III conducted inspections in various schools across the metro to ensure the sufficient and efficient deployment of policemen.
He ordered police commanders to coordinate closely with school officials in their respective jurisdictions to determine their security requirements.
Torre said street crimes and bullying are among their main concerns amid the opening of classes.
“Dito sa mga eskuwelahan, unang-una, is sa labas muna, so street crimes. Andiyan ang mga manloloko na alam mo na lolokohin ang mga bata. Maya-maya yan, nanakawan ang mga bata dahil siyempre, murang edad pa ang mga yan. Musmos pa ang mga yan. Maya-maya yan, may mga magse-setup, makukuha nila yung bag, may lamang cellphone, so yan ang mga target niyan,” Torre said.
(Here in schools, the first concern is street crimes. There are scammers out there who will take advantage of the kids. In no time, the children get robbed because, of course, they’re still very young. They’re just kids. Soon enough, someone will set something up and take their bags, which may contain cellphones, those are the usual targets.)
“Pangalawa, sa loob naman ng eskuwelahan, we are coordinating with the schools na siguraduhin natin walang bullying, walang mga krimen na makakabiktima ng ating mga estudyante,” he added.
(Second, inside the school, we are coordinating with the schools to make sure there is no bullying and no crimes that could victimize our students.)
The PNP deployed a total of 37,740 police personnel across the country to ensure the safety and welfare of learners and teachers in 45,974 public and private schools amid the opening of classes.
SY 2025-2026 will run from June 16 to March 31, 2026, which consists of 197 class days inclusive of end-of-school-year rites. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)