President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., together with Education Secretary Sonny Angara, will welcome students of Epifanio Delos Santos Elementary School in Manila for the ceremonial opening of classes for School Year 2025–2026 today, 16 June.

According to the Department of Education (DepEd), approximately 27.6 million students are returning to school nationwide.

The number includes 15.42 million elementary pupils, 8.01 million junior high school students (Grades 7 to 10), and 4.17 million senior high school students (Grades 11 and 12).

This year’s enrollment marks a significant increase from last year’s 20.5 million.

Education Assistant Secretary Jocelyn Andaya previously acknowledged the public school system’s shortage of 165,000 classrooms.

To address this, DepEd is launching a major initiative to build 105,000 new classrooms through partnerships with the Public-Private Partnership Center and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

DepEd is also hiring 20,000 new teachers to help reduce the teacher shortage by up to 65 percent.

As a temporary measure, DepEd has coordinated with local government units to repair existing classrooms and provide additional chairs and tables.

Over the weekend, schools across the country held Brigada Eskwela, where local government units and parents pitched in to clean campuses and repair damaged furniture and classrooms.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is deploying over 37,740 personnel nationwide under its “Balik Eskwela 2025” program.

PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III said officers will be assigned to secure 38,292 public and 7,682 private schools.

A total of 10,759 police assistance desks will be set up near school premises to respond to the needs of students, teachers and parents.

Additionally, 10,687 police officers will be assigned to mobile patrols, while 16,366 will conduct foot patrols.

“The safety of our students, teachers and school staff remains our utmost priority,” Torre said. “Our police officers will be in every possible area to provide protection, guidance, and support.”

In Metro Manila alone, more than 5,400 officers are expected to patrol key areas on Monday.

In Malabon City, 60 students from Tinajeros Elementary School received free haircuts courtesy of the City of Malabon Polytechnic Institute — a program designed to boost morale and help families save on grooming costs.

In Valenzuela, Mayor Wes Gatchalian led the distribution of new school uniforms to all public high school students, backed by a P56.7-million city budget.