EDUCATION Secretary Sonny Angara expressed support for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s call to address the country’s classroom shortage.

“Mabigat po ang problema ng kakulangan sa classrooms dahil apektado po ’yung learning quality o ’yung abilidad ng isang estudyante na matuto nang maigi. So tama ‘yung sinabi ni Presidente na kailangan mag-think out of the box tayo,” Angara said.

Angara made the statement during a forum attended by key officials from the Department of Education, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Migrant Workers, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Commission on Higher Education.

President Marcos earlier underscored the urgency of the issue in his fourth State of the Nation Address.

Angara noted that over the past decade, the government has constructed an average of only 6,000 classrooms annually. However, with the implementation of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), he said it would be possible to build over 100,000 classrooms within the next five to ten years.