Education Secretary Sonny Angara said Saturday the government needs to sustain education reforms for at least a decade to reverse the country’s long-running learning crisis, acknowledging that previous interventions had been implemented piecemeal.

Angara said the Department of Education (DepEd) is now pursuing a system-wide approach that addresses problems in classrooms, curriculum and teacher support simultaneously rather than through isolated reforms.

“Kulang tayo sa reporma at saka ngayon lang talaga ‘yung system-wide reforms. Dati patsi-patsi,” Angara told reporters after the National Kickoff of National Teachers Month in Cagayan de Oro City.

“So ngayon tinatahi na natin lahat ng problema. Whether it’s classrooms, ‘yung curriculum, ‘yung teachers, lahat ‘yan ina-address natin sabay-sabay,” he added.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) has proposed a 10-year education and workforce development plan for 2026 to 2035, citing interconnected problems involving foundational learning, classroom shortages, teacher workload and other systemic weaknesses.

EDCOM II’s final report in January, said the country’s learning crisis was the result of interconnected problems, including weak foundational learning, classroom shortages, teacher-related issues and lost learning time. 

Angara said the reforms would therefore have to outlast individual budget cycles.

“2026, napakaganda nung budget na binigay ng Kongreso. Sana gano’n din sa 2027,” he said.

But he stressed that the scale of the education crisis required sustained investment. “Sabi nga ng EDCOM, it’s not one year, it’s not two years. It has to be at least one decade,” Angara said.

School safety

Angara also said DepEd was strengthening security in schools following recent threats and school shooting incidents.

He said schools had begun implementing measures such as bag checks and the installation and use of closed-circuit television cameras, while DepEd had conducted an inventory to determine security gaps in schools.

“Kita natin ‘yung pumipila na tayo, chine-check ‘yung mga bags, may CCTVs po tayo,” he said.

DepEd has also been coordinating with the Philippine National Police, barangays and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to strengthen school security, Angara said.

The department conducted a nationwide school safety drill on Thursday focused on active-attack scenarios, following two recent school shooting incidents. The exercises involved lockdown procedures, coordination with police and emergency responders, evacuation and psychosocial support.

Angara said DepEd had received threats against schools, but not all were considered credible.

“May mga threats talaga. Maraming nasu-suspend na classes. ‘Yung iba hindi naman totoo ‘yung threat,” he said.

He said the department was also seeking assistance for psychological first aid, treatment and counseling because of the shortage of guidance counselors.

Easing teacher workload

Angara said DepEd was also reducing teachers’ administrative burden to allow them to focus more on instruction.

“Binawasan na natin ‘yung forms. At ‘yung kalahati tinanggal natin. Tapos puwede nang online filing,” he said.

The reduction of administrative workload is among the reforms identified by EDCOM II as necessary to give teachers more time for teaching. The commission has identified excessive paperwork as a persistent problem that takes teachers away from classroom instruction.

Angara also said private-sector support could help address basic resource shortages in schools.

Angara also cited private-sector assistance to schools, including McDonald’s donation of recycled chairs, saying the initiative could help address shortages while promoting recycling among students.

“Bukod sa upuan na alam natin na nakakatulong talaga, ‘yung prinsipyo nung upuan kasi recycled ‘yung binibigay nilang mga upuan. Kaya sustainable,” he said.