Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. stressed the province’s commitment to immediately address the pressing concerns over classroom shortage in public schools, prioritizing schools using makeshift classrooms as temporary learning spaces.
During his State of the Province Address today at the 2025 Iloilo Provincial Education Summit held at Grand Xing Imperial Hotel, the governor cited the data from the Department of Education which revealed that there is currently a shortage of 1,655 classrooms both in elementary and secondary schools in the province. A total of 7,279 classrooms need major repair.
But Governor Defensor said he will prioritize those schools which use makeshift classrooms to hold classes. DepEd reported that 468 classrooms are urgently needed to be constructed in the province.
Defensor acknowledged the need to provide a safe and conducive learning environment for the Ilonggos. He said the provincial government will maximize its Special Education Fund, spending P600 million for the construction and repair of public school classrooms.
“This 468 is doable…We want to spend P600 million for classrooms in our SEF. We don’t want savings towards the end of the year. We want to spend the money,” the governor said.
The governor appealed to the local government units to help them in the implementation of the classroom project.
The aggressive construction of typhoon-resilient classrooms is part of Defensor’s education reform program Bulig Eskwela sang Probinsya (BES Probins) Program which implements an effective, relevant, and transformative education in the province of Iloilo.
From 2022-2025, the provincial government has already spent P355 million for the construction and repair of classrooms. An amount of P157.852 million was spent on 86 classrooms, including the 29 typhoon-resilient buildings. A total of P7 million was allotted for 21 makeshift tent classrooms and 15 makeshift classrooms. The province allocated P14.683 million for the repair and improvement of 25 classrooms.
Aside from standard classrooms, the province also embarked on the construction of Madrasah Schools for the Muslim community, school of living tradition for the IP community, teen center buildings, and water systems in schools.
“That is what we are doing right now in our education system. Notwithstanding that education is not a devolved function of the LGU, we take full responsibility. We will do it anyway,” Defensor said. (Capitol news)