COLUMN | Old school struggle

The return to the June–March school calendar isn’t just about reverting to an old schedule; it's more than addressing the heat index that previously plagued Filipino learners in the hot summer months. It’s a symbolic return to unresolved issues that have long tormented Philippine education. Brigada Eskwela 2025, which should have been a hopeful opening, instead revealed just how little has changed, encapsulating bare minimum progress as years go by.

As the Brigada Eskwela runs from June 9 to 13, teachers, once again, find themselves doing everything from cleaning classrooms to buying school supplies with their own money.  While the calendar shifted, the weight on their shoulders did not, and support from the system remains minimal at best, as always.

Up to Facebook, teachers did not express doubt upon calling for monetary and supply donations from various sectors to compensate for the shortages. Enough funds are essential to mobilize learning facilities and prepare learning machinery, knowing that classes will officially commence on June 16.

Brigada Eskwela, though born out of a spirit of volunteerism, has become a patch for a leaking system. This issue is something that Filipino teachers should not carry; it is the government that should shoulder the preparation of a safe and functional learning space. But it seems the responsibility has unfairly fallen on teachers, parents, and communities, perhaps the government gambles on the nation's coffers, publicly misusing it for their interest.

The 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) cut back on the budget for the Department of Education (DepEd), a blow that jeopardizes the aspiration towards improving learning outcomes. Key provisions include ₱36.81 billion for basic education facilities, ₱3.69 billion for curriculum development, ₱106.23 million for early language, literacy, and numeracy programs, ₱479 million for physical fitness and sports, and ₱19.77 billion for teacher allowances, hardship pay, and position reclassification.

Unfortunately, the bicameral conference committee trimmed the budget by ₱12 billion from the Senate-approved amount, leaving the agency with ₱737 billion in the final 2025 GAA, down from the initial ₱748.65 billion.

Of the ₱12 billion reduction, ₱10 billion came specifically from the agency’s computerization program, prompting Education Secretary Sonny Angara to express profound concern over the setback to digital learning initiatives.

This contradicts the clear legal mandate of the 1987 constitution that education must receive the highest budgetary priority among all sectors of the government, as stated in Article XIV, Section 5(5): "The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment."

Thus, the observed budget cuts are significantly unconstitutional and could curtail DepEd's efficacy in delivering its crucial service. Civil groups like the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, Freedom from Debt Coalition, and PAHRA have slammed the 2025 GAA for allegedly “misallocating” funds by lumping non‑education agencies into the education budget to meet constitutional minimums. More so, the public is frustrated that despite claims of prioritizing education, classrooms remain overcrowded and teachers underpaid, a bitter reality.

This becomes even more alarming considering the reported shortage of 165,000 classrooms, which could take 55 years to address at the current pace. Students are left learning in cramped, uncomfortable, and often unsafe conditions, an environment unfit for meaningful education.

In some schools, most especially in the far-flung areas, as many as three classes share a single room by taking turns or cramming together with only makeshift dividers. Students still sit on broken chairs or even the floor, while teachers, specifically in multigrade classes, struggle to manage overcrowded spaces that echo more chaos than learning.

DepEd noted in the recent plenary hearing that out of its ₱793.74 billion budget for 2025, only ₱36.81 billion is allocated for basic education facilities—including classroom construction—even as the Department continues to wrestle with an enormous infrastructure backlog. Given the amount, it is not enough, and will never holistically address the dilemma that yearns for urgency.

DepEd policies often look polished in press releases but fall flat in real-world implementation. The shift to the old calendar, for example, came with no concrete assistance to help schools adjust effectively. No guaranteed subsidies for teachers, and so teachers share the burden throughout the archipelago. According to ACT Teachers Partylist, many teachers had to report to school during their supposed break just to prepare for early opening, without overtime pay. Others were forced to spend out of pocket for basic needs like electric fans, curtains, and cleaning supplies. 

The once-inspiring spirit of Brigada Eskwela now feels hollow, as teachers are forced to do unpaid labor under the pressure of unrealistic expectations. Truly, its essence becomes more like a band-aid solution. Brigada Eskwela has persisted for many years, and its systemic cycle of false development will leave no mark of improvement unless the government undertakes the necessary steps. The sad truth is that year after year, teachers and parents are left patching up what the system refuses to fix, relying on donations, borrowed tools, and sheer willpower just to make classrooms barely ready for students. This barrier disintegrates the process, and so there’s no change along its implementation, opposing the ‘we are school-ready’ tagline.

With the administration's morale currently crumbling, hope becomes harder to hold onto in the absence of real change in the education system. With 18 million learners according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) who graduated being "functionally illiterate," no amount of cramming intervention could rectify this absolute failure, which the government has overlooked.

As DepEd gets back to the old school calendar, so does the old school struggle. It is high time for the government to stop romanticizing the struggle of our educators and start demanding the support they truly deserve. If we want to solve illiteracy, then they should close classroom gaps. That means heavily investing in school infrastructure, hiring more teachers, and ensuring that every child learns in a safe, comfortable space, not overcrowded rooms with broken chairs and no books.

Every Filipino student deserves well-structured seats with a conducive learning environment. Through that, they will learn better and holistically. As education is the driving force of the economy, the national government should never be selfish with it, once and for all.