THE HOUSE Committee on Appropriations has terminated the briefing for the P793.18 billion proposed budget of Department of Education and endorsed it for plenary deliberations.

DepEd’s budget sponsor, Davao de Oro Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora flagged the major challenges in the Philippine education system particularly the learning crisis, 150,000 classrooms backlog, textbook shortages, procurement issues, 47,000 unfilled positions, and concerns over senior high school graduates’ employability.

DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara said his priorities are improving curriculum implementation, learning recovery and assessments while advocating for hybrid and computer-based assessments, targeted support for low-achieving learners and promoting inclusive education.

He noted that outdated staffing standards delay teachers’ career progress and highlighted issues such as high bullying rates, student malnutrition and shortage of 4,486 guidance counselors.

Angara also identified gaps, such as 159,202 classroom shortage, 2,001 schools without electricity and 18,325 without internet, suggesting a school building program, electrification and nationwide internet access by 2029 — with support from private and international partners.

At the same time, Angara committed to looking into early or decentralized procurement and a feasibility study on increasing the number of suppliers to address the procurement delays.