THE DEPARTMENT of Education (DepEd) yesterday signed a deal to ramp up its schoolbuilding construction program to complement projects lined up under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

An agreement was signed yesterday by Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro with the SM Group, Banco de Oro (BDO) Foundation and German financial group Deutsche Bank to build 10 schoolbuildings totaling P17 million, a statement said.

The project will put up a total of 26 classrooms in Pampanga, Navotas, Bulacan, Cavite and Quezon in Luzon; Cebu City in the Visayas; and Davao City and General Santos City in Mindanao.

The private groups are involved in Bayanihang Pampaaralan, a private-sector led movement that is targeting to build 10,000 classrooms in two years.

Mr. Luistro said at the event that the business sector’s involvement will bridge the “huge resource gap” in the public school system.

The government has estimated that around 30,000 classrooms would have to be built annually in the next five years to meet the expected shortage of 150,000 classrooms by 2016 given the implementation of the “K+12” program, or the additional years in the elementary and secondary levels.

Earlier this month, the DepEd has invited contractors to apply for pre-qualification to bid for the P10.4-billion schoolbuilding PPP project involving 9,332 classrooms in three regions.

Meanwhile, classrooms for public high school students have been found wanting in Region 12 (Central Mindanao), with a shortage of 725 to meet the standard classroom-to-student ratio of one is to 45, according to statistics released recently.

“Crowded classrooms have been a perennial problem in most public schools in the Soccsksargen (Central Mindanao) region most particularly in public secondary schools,” said Herlita G. Caraan, National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) regional chief, citing data from the DepEd.

The standard classroom-to-student ratio in the Philippines is one per 45 students under Republic Act 7880, or “An act providing for the fair and equitable allocation of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports’ budget for capital outlay.”

In a fact sheet released by the regional NSCB, the ratio in the region for the school years 2006-2010 remained way above the standard of 1:45. The ratio averaged 1:52 in school year 2006-2007 with a slight improvement to 1:49 in 2010-2011.

Worst ratio

Among the provinces and cities, the worst in terms of classroom-to-student ratio are Sarangani at 66 students per classroom, Sultan Kudarat at 63, and Tacurong City at 62 for school year 2010-2011.

The biggest improvement in ratio in the five previous school years was noted in Kidapawan City at 1:63 in 2006-2007 to 1:44 in 2010-2011.

A decline in such ratio was posted by Sarangani from 1:61 to 1:66; Sultan Kudarat from 1:58 to 1:63; and Tacurong City from 1:60 to 1:62; for the same comparative period. Conforming to the ratio standard as of 2010-2011 were General Santos City with 1:40; Cotabato City, 1:43, Kidapawan City with 1:44; and South Cotabato, 1:44.

Both Cotabato City and General Santos City, however, have adopted three shifts of classes per day, which indicate that there is in fact a real shortage of classrooms in said cities.

If a single shift was adopted to meet the 1:45 standard, General Santos City needs an additional 173 classrooms and Cotabato City 91 classrooms.

Other areas with wide classroom gaps are Sarangani, 185; Sultan Kudarat, 182; North Cotabato, 64; Tacurong City, 31; and Koronadal City, 21. — K. A. M. Patria and R. S. Sarmiento