CITY OF SAN JOSE DEL MONTE, Bulacan (PIA) — The Department of Education (DepEd) is prioritizing learning recovery, classroom construction, and teacher expansion in 2026 to strengthen the country’s education system, Secretary Sonny Angara said.
During an informal dialogue with teachers at Minuyan Elementary School, Angara reiterated that the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, mandated under Republic Act 12028, is now being implemented nationwide to improve students’ reading comprehension and mathematics skills.
DepEd-San Jose Del Monte Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas reported that of the 14,550 learners enrolled in ARAL in the city, 8,575 have already exited the program after demonstrating improved reading proficiency.
The initiative is complemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) ‘Tara Basa!’ tutoring program.
To address infrastructure gaps, DepEd has allocated an initial P9.6 billion under the National Classroom Construction Program for the first 4,000 classrooms nationwide.
Of this amount, P4.1 billion will be released to provincial governments to build around 1,200 classrooms.
The agency will also procure about 2,800 prefabricated classrooms worth more than P5 billion. These form part of the planned 24,000 to 26,000 classrooms targeted for construction in 2026.
On workforce expansion, Angara noted that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has already promoted more than 5,600 teachers.
He added that the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) will allow the promotion of 100,000 more teachers and the creation of 30,000 new teaching positions.
To sustain reforms, the Marcos administration allocated P1.34 trillion for the education sector under the 2026 GAA, enacted as Republic Act 12314.
The record-high education budget represents about four percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), reinforcing the government’s push to accelerate learning recovery and expand access to quality education. (MJSC/SFV, PIA Region 3-Bulacan)
