DepEd: School Year 2025-2026 opens for nearly 28 million students

June 16, 2025 , 10:31 AM

By Rodolfo Dacleson II

(June 16, 2025) – The school year 2025-2026 opens today, June 16, with 27.6 million students returning to classes nationwide, according to the Department of Education (DepEd).

BALIK-ESKWELA

Opisyal nang nagbukas ang mga klase para sa school year 2025-2026 ngayong Lunes, June 16.

Tinatayang nasa 27.6-milyong mag-aaral ang nagbalik-eskwela ngayong araw, ayon sa Department of Education (DepEd).

Kasabay nito, nag-deploy din ng 37,000 kapulisan upang… pic.twitter.com/t7m2SnOXJL
— News5 (@News5PH) June 16, 2025

DepEd said there are 300,000 more enrollees this year than in 2024.

Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), meanwhile, assured the preparedness and commitment of teachers for the opening of classes but urged the government to fulfill its responsibilities in fostering a better learning environment.

“Teachers are always ready and enthusiastic to perform their duties despite the recurring challenges we face every year. But it is also the government’s duty to make sure we are not left to carry this burden alone,” said TDC national chairperson Benjo Basas, as quoted by One News.

Basas, however, noted that persisting educational woes will impair the opening of classes, such as a shortage of classrooms and learning materials aligned with the “Matatag K-10” curriculum.

According to DepEd, the country’s classroom shortage stood at over 165,000 in 2023.

ALSO READ: Government urged to address classroom shortage through multiple solutions

Last February, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) reported that only 35 of 90 textbook titles for the new curriculum have been delivered as of January this year.

Basas also raised concern about the lack of support for implementing the Strengthened Senior High School (SHS) curriculum, which will begin its pilot rollout in select schools.

“Reports from the field show that some schools participating in the SHS pilot are not adequately supported to deliver the new curriculum effectively,” he said.

Further, the revised SHS curriculum aimed at streamlining Grades 11-12 by reducing the number of core subjects from 15 to up to seven to improve job readiness and college preparation.

EDCOM 2 called on DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education to collaborate for the revision of the SHS program, citing curriculum misalignment with over half of its graduates lacking proper higher-education or employment skills.

This year, the government allocated P793.74 billion to DepEd and its attached agencies, a 3.99% increase from the previous funding.

(BR)

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