CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- The Department of Education (DepEd) in Central Luzon said on Monday that it is addressing classroom and teacher shortages in the region.
DepEd Region 3 head Ronnie S. Mallari said the current ratio in Central Luzon is one classroom for every 35 students.
But he stressed that schools in the region do not have a significant backlog.
Some divisions, particularly in urbanized or densely populated areas, are experiencing larger gaps in classroom availability, he said.
"Our Education Support Services Division reports that the current classroom ratio in Region III is one classroom for every 35 students. Although the standard is one classroom for every 40 students, our region does not have a significant backlog compared to others," he said.
Some divisions, particularly in urbanized or densely populated areas, are experiencing larger gaps in classroom availability. To address this issue, the DepEd central office is rationalizing classroom distributions to ensure equity, Mallari added.
The DepEd official admitted that addressing this challenge will not happen overnight.
But he said that through ongoing planning and systematic data gathering, the DepEd aims to gradually alleviate substantial classroom shortages.
“With new construction projects, we prioritize areas with a one-to-50 or one-to-45 ratio,” he said.
On teacher shortages, Mallari said the region is prepared for any potential deployments through strategic planning for school administrators to address educators' needs.
“We train our principals, superintendents, and chiefs to engage in strategic planning to address these needs. We must be honest with the baseline data to ensure accurate information and effective decision-making. The needs of the teachers in the region are being addressed accordingly through their Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses. An update indicates an increase in MOOE at the school level, meaning all resources from the government are now augmented to meet the needs of our teachers,” he said.
As DepEd Central Luzon develops strategic solutions, Mallari said the agency remains focused on ensuring that every student has access to quality education and adequate support from their teachers.