THE Department of Education (DepEd) estimates that between 26 to 28 million students will enroll for School Year 2026–2027, which officially opens on June 8, according to Assistant Secretary Jocelyn Andaya.
In an interview, Andaya stated that while the department has over one million teaching and non‑teaching personnel, the current number of teachers is sufficient to handle the projected enrollment, even though shortages persist in certain areas.
“We have many new items available… We see that our teacher count will be enough for this school year. If we talk about ideal numbers, there are gaps, but there are also schools where teachers are more than enough,” she explained.
DepEd data shows the student‑to‑teacher ratio stands at approximately 35:1 in lower grade levels and 45:1 in higher levels, though this can rise to 50:1 or even 55:1 in highly urbanized areas such as the National Capital Region.
Meanwhile, the classroom backlog remains at 136,000 units. To address this, the department continues to implement various programs including public‑private partnerships, collaboration with local government units, and the Adopt‑a‑School initiative to speed up construction. The Department of Public Works and Highways is also expected to complete more than 9,000 new classrooms within the year.
Regarding learning resources, students will initially use materials distributed last school year while waiting for new textbooks scheduled to arrive in July.
“While our students do not yet have the new books, we have supplementary learning materials and lesson activity sheets that they can use,” Andaya said. She emphasized that the ideal standard is one textbook per student, and noted that procurement procedures are currently being streamlined to meet this goal and ensure all learners have access to proper learning tools.
