THE DEPARTMENT of Education is considering a pilot program that would implement four days of in-person classes and one day of online learning each week in an effort to reduce campus congestion.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the agency is exploring the expansion of education vouchers to the primary level while also testing a “4+1” blended learning model—four days of onsite classes and one day conducted online.

Angara made the announcement as he called on more than 1,300 municipal mayors to help address the country’s persistent classroom shortage. During the League of Municipalities of the Philippines General Assembly 2026 on Monday, he presented a multi-channel roadmap aimed at closing the nationwide deficit of about 165,000 classrooms.

He emphasized that relying solely on traditional procurement methods is no longer enough to solve the problem. Instead, DepEd is pursuing a strategy designed to accelerate school building construction while ensuring greater flexibility, efficiency, and transparency.

“We are no longer content with the old system. We are changing the way we deliver to make it faster, more efficient, more effective, and more transparent,” Angara said.

“Education is a shared responsibility, and our LGUs are the best-positioned partners to ensure these funds are translated into actual, usable classrooms for our learners,” he added.

Under the plan, the government aims to deliver around 30,000 classrooms by 2028 through conventional procurement. An additional 16,000 classrooms will be built in high-congestion areas through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) under the recently approved PPP for School Infrastructure Project Phase III.

Angara also led the ceremonial signing of a memorandum of understanding between DepEd and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) to formalize the nationwide acceleration of classroom construction.