EDCOM 2: Update, review housing policies to prevent congestion of schools
November 22, 2024
EDCOM 2: Update, review housing policies to prevent congestion of schools
"Meron po kaming 2,150 learners from Grades 1-6, and only 6 classrooms". Holding back tears, Principal Liezl Raymundo, of Ciudad Nuevo Elementary School in Naic, Cavite, shared her experience during the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2)'s hearing on housing developments and school congestion.
The November 21 hearing revealed the alarming situation faced by overcrowded schools, with learners and teachers struggling to cope with inadequate facilities. In Naic, Cavite, enrolment in Timalan Hillsview Integrated School increased from only 637 in 2021, to 6,900 by 2024, representing a 983% increase. Meanwhile, Ciudad Nuevo Elementary School serves over 2,000 learners from Grades 1 to 6 but has only six classrooms, resulting in overcrowded classrooms that hold up to 200 students each. In the adjacent National High School, student-to-classroom ratios surged to 1:256 due to increasing demand.
To cope with congestion, schools have resorted to multiple shifts, with students going to school for only three half-days per week for face-to-face lessons. The remaining lessons are "modular" with students-- including those in Kindergarten to Grade 3-- having to learn at home on their own. Because of multi-shift classes, Kindergarten students also start as early as 5:45 am. They have also been forced to adopt extreme measures such as holding classes in tents, and conducting remedial programs in corridors, due to lack of space.
The problem, EDCOM 2 found, stems from a lack of coordination between housing and education agencies. EDCOM 2 Commissioner Representative Jude Acidre noted during the hearing that while resettlement projects aim to address housing shortages, they often fail to include proper planning for schools.
"The way I see it, Ciudad Nuevo started within the ideal setup, and then the balloon came when all the developments came in", Acidre explained. "Siguro there was a breakdown either in communication, coordination, or forecasting, and it became difficult for the school to cope with the increase in enrollment", he said.
Acidre also pointed out the delayed response to these pressures, which compounds the issue. "Imagine, you bring in a hundred new families, and how long does it take to build a classroom or a building, other than the fact that you have to put in the teachers and everything? It compounds the problem, and the impact is sobrang adverse."
Research by EDCOM shows that policies that require housing developments to consider social services are either outdated or not monitored. Batasang Pambansa 220 of 1982 remains in place, requiring only the construction of classrooms for developments exceeding 1,500 units. It is unable to account however for the impact on schools once smaller-scale developments are aggregated, as in the case of Naic, where the three schools cater to 48 resettlement and low-cost housing communities.
Coordination between the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the Department of Education (DepEd) has also been weak. During the hearing, Mr. Roderick T. Ibañez, Regional Manager of National Housing Authority (NHA) Region IV, shared how they built classrooms for donation to DepEd without coordinating prior. NHA and DHSUD often approve resettlement projects without adequate input from DepEd or LGUs, leaving schools to manage enrollment surges with insufficient resources. Without stronger collaboration and clear accountability, these problems are likely to recur in other rapidly urbanizing areas.
Henry Yap, DHSUD Undersecretary for Land Use Planning, Public Housing, and Institutional Partnerships, shared, however, that policies are currently being reviewed and updated.
During the hearing, EDCOM 2 Commissioners proposed compelling developers to invest in educational infrastructure as part of their housing projects.
Acidre questioned whether the DHSUD could strengthen its oversight of developers. "Maybe in the interim, until guidelines are met, DHSUD should also look into how you can exercise your oversight over your developers to really assign intentional sites for schools. Compel your developers to invest also in school infrastructure. Normally, kung may developers ka dyan, may community center or a commercial area 'yan. Is it possible that we can compel developers to create educational facilities as well, kahit minimum lang?"
"At the end of the day, we want you to know na alam namin yung nangyayari. Importante and classrooms, infrastructure. Kaya importante yan kasi we want quality education. Is this even included in the Seal of Good Local Governance? You can make use of that. We need to look up these strategies by which we can synergize efforts," said EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Roman Romulo
"DepEd, DHSUD and DILG must work together to update these policies and to clarify responsibilities to ensure that cases like these do not happen over and over again. We need to find solutions that prevent congestion from the onset, and not wait until students are jampacked in 1:300 classes before we build the schools. Proper planning and monitoring should be done by both national government agencies and local government units, in order to address this," said Executive Director Yee.
"I don't think there is a lack of effort. It's only that our solutions have become desperate, and there has been no focused intention of putting everything together. There should be a shared stakeholdership in the communities that we support," said Acidre
"It's not just DepEd that should be the one responsible for this, and they cannot be expected to put forth the solution, because as it is they're already beyond limits. They're already delivering beyond what's humanly possible. And I think it behooves everyone to see the role and their share in the solution and that should lead to collaboration," he added.
In attendance during the hearing were EDCOM Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo, Commissioner Rep. Jude Acidre, Executive Director Dr. Karol Mark Yee, and Subcommittee on Basic Education members Elvin Uy, Disodado San Antonio, Fr. Lawrence Llona, and Dr. Therese Bustos. Department of Education Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development Wilfredo Cabral represented DepEd. Representatives from the Cavite Provincial Government, the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and the Department of Trade and Industry Center for AI Research were also in attendance.
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