Leasing program to ease classroom shortage .

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) is leasing available private school facilities and properties and using them to address classroom shortages.

In a statement released yesterday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said DepEd is expanding its infrastructure strategy to include the leasing of available, compliant private school facilities and properties as a solution to urban classroom congestion. 

This is also a way to bypass multi-year construction delays and provide immediate relief to overcrowded campuses.

Angara explained that leasing serves as an agile, high-impact solution alongside traditional building projects to meet urgent classroom needs on the ground.

The initiative is part of DepEd’s infrastructure strategy which works alongside Department of Public Works and Highways-led construction, local government unit partnerships, Public-Private Partnerships, DepEd Learning Continuity Spaces and collaborations with other organizations.

“We cut down waiting times significantly, decongest our public campuses and ensure our learners are sitting comfortably in classrooms rather than makeshift spaces,” Angara said.

The leasing program targets highly congested public campuses across key cities and regions.

Initially, DepEd selected Baliwag and Marikina as models for accelerating learning space expansion.

DepEd offices are currently evaluating additional campus leases, ensuring that safety, accessibility and proximity standards are strictly met.