MANILA, Philippines – Around 1,500 public schools in the country still do not have electricity while 1,000 do not have toilets as of October 2024, a new report from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) shows.
These schools are among the 9,000 classified as last mile schools, which the Department of Education (DepEd) defines as those in remote or conflict-affected areas. They lack proper facilities or basic amenities.
Last mile schools have 1.6 million students combined. EDCOM 2 said half of them are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
For schools without electricity, around a third are in Cotabato (formerly North Cotabato), Palawan, Sulu, Zamboanga del Sur, and Negros Oriental.
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“Off-grid schools are often located far from the available tapping points of local electric cooperatives, making traditional electrical connections impractical. In such cases, solar panels emerge as a viable alternative source of electricity,” EDCOM 2 said in its Year Two Report, released on Monday, January 27.
The commission did note that 98% to 99% of the country’s more than 45,000 public schools already had electricity by 2020, but “challenges remained in terms of universal access and modernized infrastructure.”
Power systems have to be modernized or upgraded for 39,335 schools, according to EDCOM 2.
Meanwhile, despite the DepEd launching its Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools program in 2016, “public schools in most regions lack sufficient sanitary facilities, with toilet-to-student ratios falling below recommended standards.”
DepEd guidelines prescribe one toilet for every 50 students or less.
“[WASH] initiatives are also complicated by water systems falling under LGU (local government unit) jurisdiction,” limiting DepEd control, added EDCOM 2.
Deteriorating infrastructure
Aside from the lack of basic amenities, EDCOM 2 found that only 30% of all school buildings are in good condition.
“Marami kaming mga na-visit na mga schools. ‘Yung mga ceiling nila, talagang tanggal-tanggal na. May mga principals kaming nakausap sa Iloilo, talagang ‘pag umulan, talagang puro batya kasi tumutulo ‘yung mga classrooms nila,” EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Yee said in a Rappler Talk interview on Tuesday, January 28.
(We were able to visit many schools. Their ceilings were really dilapidated. We talked to some principals in Iloilo who said that they have to put basins inside their classrooms whenever it rains due to leaking roofs.)
Schools in the eastern Philippines, often bearing the brunt of tropical cyclones, are particularly vulnerable to hazards.
In urbanized Metro Manila and Calabarzon, facilities may be more maintained compared to those in rural areas, but they are typically congested.
“More than half of concrete and all wooden school buildings in the country will be beyond their useful life by 2040. Without new construction or maintenance, only 16% of classrooms would remain in good condition by 2040,” EDCOM 2 said.
“The government must invest more in the maintenance and upgrade of school buildings that are prone to degradation. There should be a focus on building stronger, disaster-resistant school buildings in high-risk areas to ensure the safety and continuity of education.”
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Limited resources
As is usually the case, however, funding is inadequate.
“May policy kasi ang DepEd that if it is up to a certain amount, dapat school funding na ‘yung gagamitin, ‘yung school MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses). Pero…napakakulang ng school MOOE para sila mismo ‘yung tumugon sa mga pangangailangan nila. Ang tagal din naman ng DepEd na minsan maglaan ng pondo sufficiently to be able to address these concerns,” Yee said.
(There’s a DepEd policy that if it is up to a certain amount, the school funding, the school MOOE should be used. But the school MOOE is insufficient for schools to be able to provide for their own needs. And the DepEd can take a long time to allocate funds sufficiently to be able to address these concerns.)
Yee also told Rappler that having just one engineer per schools division office (SDO) is problematic.
“The smallest [SDO] is in Batanes with 27 schools to supervise. So kung isa kang engineer, you have 27 schools, medyo manageable (So if you’re one engineer, you have 27 schools, that’s somewhat manageable). We found that in Misamis [Oriental], there are 1,275 schools to one division. So if you have one engineer that processes all of the school applications or school requests for support in terms of repairing school facilities, how do you do that?” Yee said.
“Kaya nga sabi namin noong first year (That’s why we said during EDCOM 2’s first year), ‘failed system.’ There is no system.”
You can access the full Year Two Report here. – Rappler.com
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