Pasukan na naman!
The start of the school year means a new wave of fresh lessons, new reforms, and renewed hopes, but for many schools, reopening classes means continuing recovery efforts from disasters that occurred months or even years ago.
According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education 2 (EDCOM II), the Philippines currently lacks 165,000 classrooms, while another 51,000 are projected to be condemned by 2028 due to aging and exposure to natural calamities.
Before this shortage is even resolved, disasters continue to pile up damage on an already strained education system.
On the opening day of classes this June 8, parts of Mindanao were shaken by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that affected 3.3 million learners and teaching personnel combined, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).
The department also estimated 1,501 public schools in 24 provinces were affected, with rapid assessments showing that 1,807 classrooms of those schools were totally destroyed.
Even if public schools are deemed safe in these calamities, they are not always able to continue normal operations as they are often transformed into evacuation centers.
Republic Act 10821 or the Children’s Emergency and Relief Act of 2016 mandates that schools can be used as places of refuge under conditions that it is the last resort and will be used “as briefly as possible.”
In practice, however, schools often become the most accessible facilities during disasters.
During Typhoons Dante and Emong in July 2025, around 442 public schools were used as evacuation sites, which led to a temporary displacement of students and prolonged class suspensions.
Since their classrooms are either damaged or repurposed, students are forced to learn under conditions, including shifting schedules, classes in covered courts and hallways, or in overcrowded spaces.
These ‘temporary’ arrangements persist long after a calamity has passed, and creates a cycle in which schools are still addressing previous disruptions as another calamity arrives.
In their final report, EDCOM II found out that provinces repeatedly exposed to hazards experience deeper learning losses, with National Achievement Test scores falling by 10 to 20%, which equates to 4 to 8 months of lost learning.
This proves that the effects of repeated disruptions in classes are measurable and its severity is only worsening beyond infrastructure concerns.
As disasters continue to affect vulnerable communities, recovery now spans from rebuilding broken classrooms to mending lost academic progress—a challenge significant enough to draw attention from policymakers.
During a Senate public hearing in August 2025, Senator Bam Aquino, then chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, warned that, “If we cannot find a solution to the classroom backlog, we’re looking at not just years but decades—possibly more than five presidents will pass before we can address this shortage.”
To respond to these concerns, DepEd has expanded coordination with Local Government Units (LGUs) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for boosted classroom repair and reconstruction efforts.
At the same time, EDCOM II has recommended the development of a “systematic, hazard-aware national classroom plan” which also considers structural integrity, hazard mapping, and population projections for safer school buildings.
Such efforts recognize the need for disaster-resilient school infrastructure that could repair past damage and withstand incoming ones.
The ability of schools to recover quickly plays an increasingly important role in protecting students’ access to education.
Without disaster-resilient learning spaces, each calamity risks extending the calamity cycle of damage, displacement, and disruption. Breaking that cycle requires quickly rebuilding safer classrooms for true national recovery.
