Gov’t eyes laptops for all, 40K classrooms before Marcos steps down

Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Tuesday expressed confidence that the Marcos administration's education agenda will be fulfilled before the end of the President’s term, with strong support from the private sector.

Angara said that through public-private partnerships (PPP), the government can accelerate the construction of more classrooms and ensure that all teachers and learners receive laptops or tablets, aligning with the Department of Education’s digitalization efforts.

The plan supports the Department of Education’s 5-Point Reform Agenda and builds on the Basic Education Development Plan adopted in 2022, aiming to address learning recovery and broader system reforms.

“Kaya nga may kumpyansa si Pangulong Marcos dahil alam nya sa loob ng PPP ay masasagot kaagad dahil malaki 'yung budgeting doon sa tulong pribadong sektor,” he said in an ambush interview during the official launch of the Quality Basic Education Development Plan at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Quezon City.

“Kaya nga sabi niya lahat ng guro natin ay magkakaroon ng laptop, makakatayo tayo ng 40,000 classrooms kasi malaki 'yung budget na ibibigay kapag sama-sama 'yung gobyerno at pribadong sektor. Bago bumaba sa pwesto si Pangulong Bongbong, palagay ko magkakatotoo 'yung mga sinabi niya sa kanyang SONA [State of the Nation Address] kahapon,” the DepEd chief added.

Currently, the country is facing a massive classroom backlog of 165,000, a crisis that may take more than half a century to resolve if the government sticks to its current pace of construction.

President Marcos, in his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday, 28 July, committed to construct 40,000 additional classrooms before the end of his term to address classroom shortages across the country.

Angara believes that the government can slowly address the worsening learning crisis by putting in place educational programs and reforms that would significantly improve the country's basic education system.

“‘Yung kumpyansa ko ay mauumpisahan natin ‘yung proseso na magpapaganda ng ating sistema at ‘yung magpapaganda ng mga resulta sa mga large-scale assessments,” Angara said.

“Well, dito kasi sa pangkaraniwang proseso kasi ng ating budget portion lang eh, o pakunti-kunti nating tinutugunan ‘yung kakulangan ng classrooms at mga computers,” he added.

Asked if the Philippines could achieve a better result in the next Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Angara said: “Sa 2026 lalabas ang bagong PISA result. Hindi natin masabi pero definitely nabigyan natin ng mga tulong ang ating mga paaralan, ‘yung mga estudyante na first time na makahawak ng computer.”

“Doon sa PISA exam hindi na mauulit ‘yun dahil lahat ng estudyante, we trained them na mag-exam sa computer,” he added.

Based on the latest PISA results, Filipino learners continue to lag behind in mathematics and reading comprehension.

“Ayon sa PISA result, 90 percent ng mga bata natin hindi makapagbasa ng maayos. At ganon din sa mathematics, medyo struggling po ‘yung mga kabataan natin sa pag-solve ng mathematical problems,” said DepEd Assistant Secretary for Operations Roger Masapol in a separate interview.

“And then also on digital education. Medyo kailangan natin mag-infuse ng maraming intervention on digital education. So ‘yung ating [learning] crisis, kailangan magsimula sa pag-resolve sa foundation,” he added.

He emphasized, however, that the Philippines is at par with most ASEAN countries—except Vietnam and Malaysia.

“But we are moving towards that, kaya nga medyo intensive ‘yung refocusing ng ating resources—from focusing on high school towards K to 3 [Kindergarten to Grade 3]. Parang shift of investment towards the foundation,” Masapol said.

To address the learning crisis, Masapol said the government is not just making education accessible to all Filipino learners but also improving quality.

“Gusto namin na naka-align lahat ang mga programa namin, mga activities towards addressing the quality of basic education. So we are hoping na makikita natin ‘yung substantial improvement in our performance sa PISA,” he said.

“Gusto natin makita ‘yung mga kabataan natin that they are achieving and we are at par with the neighboring countries. At least doon man lang makapantay sa Indonesia at Vietnam by 2030 in terms of achieving the results through PISA and also the National Achievement Test,” the DepEd official added.

To further improve the country’s basic education system, Masapol said the government is now focusing on early childhood care and development and Kindergarten to Grade 3.

“So pag na-resolve natin ‘yung issues on the foundation, ‘yung mga susunod na key stages okay na tayo,” he said.

He said the Kindergarten to Grade 10 curriculum is now being rolled out, while the Senior High School curriculum has been piloted in 900 schools nationwide.

“So other piloting, dire-diretso na po ‘yung pag-implement ng entire K to 12 [Kindergarten to Grade 12] curriculum,” he added.