All Systems Go For School Opening

Teachers are in high spirits and schools are ready to welcome millions of learners as School Year (SY) 2026-2027 formally opens tomorrow, the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) said.

Speaking over radio dWIZ, TDC chairman Benjo Basas said schools are prepared for the opening of classes despite challenges in some areas.

“I visited some schools in Bulacan for the closing event of Brigada Eskwela and it looks like the schools are ready. And you know, our teachers are always in high spirits when the school year opens,” Basas said.

He revealed that flooding incidents were reported in Calumpit, Hagonoy and Paombong, all in Bulacan, but noted that classes are expected to proceed as scheduled.

“So far, there’s no sign that the opening will be postponed. Unlike in 2024 when we had several divisions that were not able to open classes. We are used to it,” he said. “Our teachers in the Philippines are resilient.”

Basas also said the TDC will hold a nationally coordinated event today to demonstrate teachers’ readiness for the opening of classes.

At the same time, he renewed the group’s call for a salary increase for public school teachers.

“We will call our government, our Congress, our Senate, Malacañang. Before you prioritize fighting, prioritize the rights of our citizens. And of course, our teachers who are calling for P15,000 across-the-board increase,” Basas said.

“Teachers are really complaining about our socioeconomic condition. Our teachers have the lowest salary among government professionals in our country. Despite the fact that even our politicians are saying that teaching is the noblest of all professions, the most important job. And yet a teacher’s salary is included in the lowest,” he added.

All systems go

Meanwhile, the Department of Education declared “all systems go” as it expects to welcome between 26 million and 28 million learners nationwide.

DepEd Undersecretary for Learning Systems Strand Carmela Oracion said preparations for the new school year began immediately after classes ended in March.

“Our schools, our teachers, principals and even our personnel in the central office are very used to this cycle of the school year… As soon as classes closed (in March), our colleagues in DepEd started thinking about how to make this coming year even better than the last. That’s why I can say that we have really prepared, are still preparing and are ready for the opening of classes this coming week,” Oracion said.

This school year, DepEd will implement the three-term school calendar, a reform aimed at providing longer and more focused periods for teaching and learning, minimizing class disruptions and improving the use of instructional time throughout the academic year.

Aside from this, the DepEd will also fully implement education in emergencies, increased work immersion hours in senior high school, a flexible learning program and the strengthened Senior High School curriculum for Grade 11 students.

“We need to do it all at once; we can’t do it one by one because we have many problems and we want to address them so that we can feel the improvement. If we address those problems one by one, we won’t feel the improvement,” she said.

On infrastructure, Oracion reported that the classroom shortage has been reduced from 165,000 to about 140,000, although the problem remains significant.

“It’s now at 140,000-plus, but that’s still no joke, we still lack many classrooms. We are building and we are really very aggressive on the construction of classrooms, the Department of Education is really taking care of that now and we may be able to add a significant number of classrooms with all the effort this year,” she said, adding that the department is also trying to deliver textbooks on time and addressing school repair needs, with requests nationwide reaching P28 billion.

Suspension? 

Amid the preparations, DepEd dismissed as fake news a social media post claiming that classes would be suspended on June 8.

“The public is reminded to be critical of the information they read online. Do not follow pages that share false information and report them immediately,” DepEd said.

The agency urged the public to rely only on the official DepEd Philippines social media accounts for announcements and information regarding basic education.