SEVERAL lawmakers are pushing to strengthen the Department of Education by proposing amendments to Republic Act 9155, citing the increasing complexity of managing the country’s basic education system.

House Bill 7607 was filed by Roman Romulo, Jude Acidre, Ziaur-Rahman ‘Zia’ Adiong, Steve Solon, and Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon.

The lawmakers said the governance of basic education has become more challenging due to the rapid expansion of schools and the rollout of senior high school programs in the past decade. As student enrollment continues to rise, so does the workload in DepEd’s regional and Schools Division Offices (SDOs).

To address this, the proposed measure seeks to strengthen DepEd’s regional offices by granting them greater authority to set direction within their jurisdictions and tailor the implementation of central office policies based on local needs.

The bill also allows the creation of more than one SDO in provinces, cities, and municipalities, subject to the Education Secretary’s assessment of an area’s demographics, geographic conditions, and overall profile.

In addition, the measure formally recognizes the title of the Minister of Basic, Higher and Technical Education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and enables DepEd to extend technical assistance and training programs to divisions, districts, schools, and learning centers in the region.

The proposed amendments aim to make the education system more responsive and better equipped to handle the growing demands of learners and institutions nationwide.