Repeated weather disruptions and the reliance on classrooms as temporary evacuation shelters threaten to deepen long-term learning gaps for Filipino students, Education Secretary Sonny Angara warned Wednesday.

Speaking during an inspection of Santolan Elementary School in Pasig City — which sheltered residents displaced by recent monsoon flooding — Angara called on the government to build dedicated evacuation centers to prevent compounding lost instructional time.

"That learning loss does not just go away," Angara said. "It really piles up over the years."

Angara cited that more than 40,000 schools across several regions, representing roughly one-fifth of the nation's total, were recently affected by weather disruptions.

The disruptions add strain to a public education system already facing a backlog of more than 166,000 classrooms, according to estimates by the Second Congressional Commission on Education.

Angara pointed out that building dedicated emergency shelters falls under the mandate of the Department of Public Works and Highways to relieve pressure on educational facilities.