The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday held a summit to address delays in classroom construction and improve flexibility, innovation, transparency, accountability, and good governance in education infrastructure.

For years, DepEd’s classroom backlog — estimated at 165,000 nationwide in 2022 — was handled through fragmented information and slow coordination, leading to prolonged delays across regions.

The summit marked a shift toward a more organized rollout, with stakeholders reviewing classroom prototypes, taking part in technical breakout sessions, and assessing construction capacity ahead of DepEd’s 2026 infrastructure plan.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the event aims to break the patterns that have stalled the system and reinforce the education agenda of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“We all know this is one of our more intractable problems at DepEd, and we're hoping today's activities will help provide clear solutions and ways forward. And definitely, DepEd is committed to working with various actors both in and out of government to make the President's plan succeed,” Angara said.

A key development in the summit was the launch of the Strategic Resource Inventory for Deployment Efficiency Dashboard — a platform that consolidates enrollment, staffing, and infrastructure data to help regional and division offices pinpoint where classrooms and personnel are most urgently needed. The dashboard also enables field offices to view mapped data and refine requirements more accurately.

The summit also focused on strengthening planning and procurement readiness by engaging contractors, suppliers, and partners to align with market capacity and emerging innovations. It likewise served as DepEd’s market scoping activity pursuant to Republic Act No. 12009 (New Government Procurement Act) authored by then-Senator, now Secretary, Angara.

Breakout sessions tackled contractor accreditation, climate-resilient designs, financing models, and contract implementation. Exhibits featured a standard DepEd classroom and a disaster-ready temporary learning space designed for deployment after typhoons and earthquakes.