GBF expands education initiatives by building classrooms

MANILA, Philippines — As education remains an urgent concern for Philippine businesses, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) is expanding its initiatives to help address the issue by building public classrooms.

Long focused on teacher development and strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the country, GBF has added school infrastructure as part of its programs.

GBF, along with Robinsons Land Corp. and the Department of Education (DepEd) broke ground on the classroom project that will benefit three schools in Pangasinan and one in Bacolod.

In particular, Nalsian-Bacayao Elementary School, Bued Elementary School and San Miguel Elementary School in Calasiao, Pangasinan are set to receive two classrooms each, while Emiliano Lizares Elementary School in Bacolod City will get four.

The project is being undertaken under DepEd’s  Adopt-a-School Program and the beneficiaries were chosen based on the agency’s list of schools where classrooms are needed the most.

“At the GBF, we have always believed that education is one of the most powerful ways to transform lives. It opens doors to opportunity, helps individuals realize their potential and creates pathways to a better future,” GBF chairman Lance Gokongwei said.

Apart from dedicated teachers and students eager to learn, he said quality education requires safe and conducive spaces for studying.

“Across the country, many public schools continue to face classroom shortages, often forcing students to learn in overcrowded rooms or inadequate facilities. While this is a challenge that no single organization can solve alone, we believe that every classroom built is a meaningful step toward addressing that gap,” he said.

According to the DepEd, the country has an estimated shortage of over 143,000 classrooms, affecting students’ ability to learn.

Gokongwei said that the aim is to finish the construction of classrooms in Pangasinan before the school year ends.

“But with the flood, we have to wait for it to subside. That will be quite a challenge for the timelines,” GBF executive director Grace Colet said.

While classrooms provide the environment for education, Gokongwei said teachers play an important role in shaping the learning experience every day.

As such, GBF continues to invest in teacher development through programs such as GBF STEM Collab and GBF Class Builder.

Designed as a continuous learning program for teachers, STEM Collab provides access to free expert-led learning sessions and serves as a platform for sharing of best practices in the classroom.

At present, the STEM Collab Community has 380,000 teacher members, the biggest online community of STEM teachers nationwide.

Meanwhile, Class Builder is an edtech solution that provides teachers with free, high-quality and ready-to-use instructional resources for their classes.

For learners, GBF provides scholarship grants for students in STEM-related disciplines, teacher education, technical-vocational education and other priority fields.

Gokongwei said that GBF’s initiatives are intended to help education challenges in the country.

“We always say that our greatest strength as a country is the Filipinos, their capabilities, their attitude, their service orientation… They need critical capabilities as well for them to succeed,” he said.

“In our small way, we’d like to help solve that problem,” he added.