Lack of classrooms must top DepEd’s priorities —commissioned survey

More than half of Filipinos believe that the lack of classrooms must top the Department of Education's (DepEd) priorities, according to a Pulse Asia Survey commissioned by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

Based on the survey conducted from September 17 to 21 last year, 52 percent believe that lack of classrooms is the top issue that must be immediately addressed by DepEd, followed by:

• lack of learning resources such as books and computers - 49 percent,
• lack of teachers - 45 percent,
• quality of education - 33 percent,
• lack of textbooks - 24 percent,
• drug testing of students - 24 percent,
• low pay of teachers - 24 percent,
• medium of instruction - 20 percent,
• errors in textbooks - 16 percent, and
• competence of teachers - 10 percent.

The issue of lack of classrooms was identified by 44 percent of respondents in the National Capital Region, 56 percent in Balance Luzon, 44 percent in Visayas, and 57 percent in Mindanao.

Fifty-two percent of respondents belonging to classes ABC, 54 percent from class D and 49 percent of respondents from class E chose the issue of lack of classroom as the concern that the Education Department must focus on.

According to Gatchalian's office, the survey was participated by 1,200 respondents from NCR, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,

The survey has a 95% level of confidence with a margin of error of  ±3 percent at the total Philippine level and  ±6 percent at the geographic area level.

On the same day the survey was released, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said in her Basic Education Report that the lack of school infrastructure and facilities remains the basic education’s primary problem up to this date.

Citing latest data, Duterte said that only 104,536 out of the 327,851 school buildings in the country are in good condition.

There are also 100,072 school buildings that need minor repairs, 89,252 that need major repairs, and 21,727 that are set for condemnation. — BM, GMA Integrated News