Fixing the foundations of education

In a small classroom in Quezon City, students of Pinyahan Elementary School share worn textbooks – if they have any. According to EDCOM 2, only Grades 5 and 6 in this school have full sets of textbooks; the rest have gone nearly a decade without. This isn’t an isolated case. As millions of Filipino learners returned to school last Monday, the excitement of a new academic year is again dulled by the persistent crisis in our basic education system.

Despite the Department of Education (DepEd)’s ongoing reform efforts, the sector is still trapped by long-standing problems that can’t be fixed with small changes; it needs bold and comprehensive solutions.

EDCOM 2’s Year Two Report sounds the alarm that the average Grade 3 student performs only at the level expected of a Grade 1 learner in both reading and numeracy. Meanwhile, as of January 2025, only 35 out of 94 approved textbook titles have been fully delivered to public schools.

These are not abstract figures; they reflect the daily problems faced by our teachers and learners. Makeshift classrooms emerge from a chronic shortage of space. Facilities are inadequate – many schools lack functioning laboratories, libraries or even restrooms. And too often, desks sit empty where textbooks and learning tools should be.

The roots of this crisis are tangled in underfunding and budget cutbacks, despite Article XIV, Section 5(5) of the 1987 Constitution, which clearly states: “The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education...” For fiscal year 2025, the DepEd has been allotted a budget of P793.74 billion under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), a 3.99 increase increase from 2024.

By contrast, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received P1.007 trillion, making it the single most funded executive department. While infrastructure is essential to the development of our country, is education truly our highest national priority?

Further complicating this issue is the lack of clarity on what exactly counts as “education” in the Constitution. While it says education must get the highest share of the national budget, it doesn’t clearly define which agencies are included. Because of this, lawmakers have found a way to include the budgets of institutions like the military, police and maritime academies under the “education sector.” This makes the education budget look bigger on paper, even if much of that money doesn’t go directly to public schools or classrooms.

I remember my own experience at Subic National High School, the largest secondary school in Zambales. With around 6,000 students coming from various barangays and neighboring municipalities, the school’s infrastructure could barely hold half of its population. Morning classes ran from 6 a.m. to noon; afternoon sessions from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Yet students still found themselves crammed into overcrowded rooms. Some lacked enough electric fans. Others didn’t even have proper chairs. And for afternoon-shift students, the day didn’t end in the classroom – it ended in long lines, fighting for limited seats on jeeps and buses, heading home late and exhausted.

Without real changes happening in our communities, these plans are just words on paper. Why are there still lack of textbooks, even with billions in funding? Why does it take three to five years to print and deliver learning materials? Why are classrooms overcrowded while we’re running out of trained teachers?

We’ve seen this happen before: problems are named, promises are made, action is delayed and then everything repeats. By the time progress starts, another school year has already passed. And every delay makes the learning crisis worse.

Under Secretary Sonny Angara, the DepEd started a 5-Point Reform Agenda that focuses on early childhood education, learning recovery, better school buildings, teacher training and curriculum improvements. Programs like the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) and the updated curriculum show a strong effort to fix the learning gap. Hopefully, with Secretary Angara’s leadership, our basic education system will keep improving.

This year should not be just another chapter of broken promises. We must hold our leaders accountable and push for real results and not just big plans. Quality education is a fundamental right, and our learners deserve better than “just enough.” They deserve the chance to succeed. And it’s our job to help make that happen.

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Daniel Mercado is part of the pioneering batch of Microsoft Youth Ambassadors (MYA). He was recognized as a Notable Microsoft Youth Ambassador Fellow. He does volunteer work at the National Historical Commission of the Philippines’ Museo Ni Ramon Magsaysay at Castillejos, Zambales.