DepEd launches shared data platform to help clear classroom backlog 

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education launched a centralized data platform Thursday, November 20, to help regional offices pinpoint where classrooms are most urgently needed, part of an effort to clear its long-standing backlog of over 140,000 classrooms nationwide. 

The Strategic Resource Inventory for Deployment Efficiency (STRIDE) Dashboard pulls together enrollment, staffing, and infrastructure data into mapped visualizations that field offices can use for their own needs assessments, DepEd said. 

The platform is meant to replace what Education Secretary Sonny Angara says are years of "fragmented information and slow coordination" that caused delays in building more classrooms nationwide. 

DepEd unveiled the tool at its first Classroom Summit on Thursday, a gathering of government agencies, contractors, local governments, and private partners aimed at improving transparency and planning for the infrastructure projects DepEd will pursue next year.  

"We all know this is one of our more intractable problems at DepEd, and we're hoping today's activities will help provide clear solutions and ways forward," Angara said.

The summit, according to DepEd, also doubled as a market scoping activity, conducted under Republic Act 12009 or the New Government Procurement Act.

Breakout sessions covered contractor accreditation, climate-resilient classroom designs, financing options, and contract implementation, with exhibits showcasing both standard classrooms and disaster-ready temporary learning spaces that can be deployed after typhoons and earthquakes.

DepEd also led a "Pledge of Commitment for Maayos, Mabilis, at Malinis na Procurement" to prevent the kind of delays that have plagued past infrastructure projects.

Only 22 classrooms were completed this year out of a 1,700 target, a rate DepEd blamed on delays by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which has been solely responsible for building school facilities since 2018. This slow pace and other controversies in the DPWH's flood control works prompted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order last month that funds be channeled directly to local governments to speed up classroom construction. 

DepEd, according to a recent statement, is also now exploring leasing closed private schools and reviving public-private partnerships to build some 15,000 classrooms, while setting fixed costs for construction to curb overpricing.