MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pledged that education will remain the top priority of his administration for the rest of his term, as the government continues efforts to address classroom shortages and improve learning conditions for Filipino students.

“I have pledged for the remainder of this Administration, we will prioritize – first priority will be education,” President Marcos said during the ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Department of Education (DepEd) and local government units (LGUs) to fast-track classroom construction nationwide.

“The challenges that hound our education sector are immense. But now we have the opportunity to correct at least part of those problems to help our students learn in a better environment,” he added.

Under the MOA, the government has allocated PhP9.6 billion for the first phase of classroom construction, which will provide 4,000 new classrooms nationwide — including 1,200 classrooms built by provincial governments and 2,800 prefabricated classrooms procured by DepEd. The project is part of a larger PhP85.39 billion allocation for Basic Education Facilities under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

President Marcos said these initiatives will help reduce the classroom shortage, which reached 145,000 units as of December 2025. He also noted that DepEd is pursuing public-private partnership (PPP) schemes to further bridge the gap.

Aside from building classrooms, the President emphasized improving internet connectivity in schools, pointing out that almost 34,000 public schools currently have internet access. The government aims to extend connectivity to over 14,000 additional classrooms, particularly in unserved and underserved areas.

He also highlighted progress in learning recovery programs under the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, which are improving students’ reading and learning abilities.

“It’s only the beginning. We will continue to provide all the support that our children need,” President Marcos said.