DepEd turns to idle schools as quick fix to years-long classroom backlog

The Department of Education is considering leasing closed private schools as part of its short-term strategy to ease the country’s worsening classroom shortage.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the agency is exploring idle campuses and underutilized properties that could be converted into temporary learning spaces.

“We need to think creatively if we want to move fast,” Angara said in a statement on Thursday.

The plan follows a classroom market scoping activity held with the Student First Coalition and private developers to assess which facilities could meet DepEd’s standard classroom requirements.

Angara stated THAT the move is part of a broader effort to act quickly on a shortage that reached more than 165,000 classrooms in 2022.

“If there are schools or buildings sitting idle that can be used, let’s open them for the benefit of our learners who need classrooms now,” Angara added.

DepEd officials said the initiative could cut the waiting time for additional classrooms from two to three years down to six months.

Undersecretary for Strategic Management Ronald Mendoza said the leasing model would allow the department to repurpose existing buildings while construction projects continue under long-term infrastructure plans.

One of the first campuses under evaluation is a 1,385-square-meter property in Laguna that used to house the Rainbow Institute of Learning, closed since 2020.

The site includes seven classrooms, a cafeteria, an office, and a covered court, facilities that could immediately host classes for the nearby Don Manuel Rivera Memorial Integrated National High School, which lacks 22 classrooms.

DepEd said the leasing scheme would complement, not replace, programs such as the Flexible School Building Implementation Plan and public-private partnerships for school construction.

Insights from the scoping activity will feed into the upcoming Classroom Summit, where the department hopes to finalize new models for school infrastructure delivery.