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BACOLOD CITY — Negros Island Region (NIR) needs 6,298 additional classrooms and 877 new teachers to serve the growing number of student population every school year, data from the Department of Education (DepEd) show.
Almyr Caesar Dequiña, DepEd-NIR spokesman, said that their data for school year 2025-2026 students have now reached more than 1.295 million.
Due to a lack of classrooms, Dequiña said they have resorted to maximizing other spaces and adopting shifting schedules to address the problem.
Dequiña also lauded the school heads, teachers, and other stakeholders for finding solutions by converting available spaces in the classrooms and other open spaces.
“We are doing everything we can to address the problem,” he said.
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As to the 877 teachers needed, Dequiña said it is relatively small compared to other regions in the country.
“But we are fast-tracking the hiring,” he added.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara has admitted the growing need for adequate classrooms.
“That is a factor of population growth,” Angara said.
To address the gap, Angara said the DepEd is working to revive the Public-Private Partnership program, which had previously facilitated the construction of 12,000 to 15,000 classrooms.
Under this arrangement, classrooms would be built promptly, with payments spread over 10 years.
As of June 23, there are 1,295,463 K to 12 learners enrolled in the NIR, said Dequiña.
They are hoping to achieve 100 percent of their target, he said, with enrollment ending on June 30.
The target is about 1.3 million learners in the NIR this school year, he said.
