The Provincial Government opened a new school building that will address the shortage of classrooms at the Lourdes Elementary School at Barangay Lourdes in the town of Minalin, Pampanga on 26 March 2026.

Vice Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda, 4th District Board Members Kaye Naguit and Vince Calara, and Minalin Mayor Philip Naguit led the blessing and inauguration of the said two-storey building that has allotted budget of P11.4-million from the Provincial Government.

The new school building has six classrooms with its own comfort room, providing students a safer, more comfortable area to learn. The construction of the said school building started on January 2025 and was completed on December 2025.

The school building was made possible thru the support of Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda and Vice Gov Delta, continuing their thrust to ensure their education program in Pampanga means having a place to learn for every Kapampangan student.

Pampanga is addressing a significant classroom shortage, with Central Luzon among the regions most affected by national backlogs. The Provincial Government has also inaugurated P50.2 million worth of classrooms in Arayat, with further 3-story buildings being funded to tackle overcrowding and shift systems.

According to reports, overcrowding is severe, with some schools forced into double or triple shifts due to classroom shortages, prompting the Provincial Government to actively building new school structures.

Meanwhile, Pampanga is included in the first batch of beneficiaries for the P1.4 billion PAGCOR-funded nationwide school building program, which provides 3-story, 12-classroom buildings equipped with furniture, electric fans, and smart TVs.

Another strategy being looked into is DepEd partnering with LGUs to explore “build-lease-and-transfer” schemes, aiming to reduce the massive nationwide backlog, of which Region III (Central Luzon) is a part.