Elementary students arrive for the first day of classes at President Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School in Quezon City on June 16, 2025. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Public schools in Quezon City are implementing blended learning and partitioned classrooms as they face overcrowding challenges, an education official said Monday, as the opening of classes kicked off.

Quezon City Schools Division Superintendent Carleen Sedilla said schools, particularly those in densely populated Districts 2 and 5, are congested and have no more space for new buildings.

“Kahit gusto nating magtayo ng mga classrooms, talaga pong wala nang pagtatayuan ng classrooms,” Sedilla told ABS-CBN News in a phone interview.

(Even if we want to build more classrooms, there’s really no more space to build on.)

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Batasan Hills National High School (BHNHS), one of the city’s largest educational institutions with 15,000 enrollees for Academic Year 2025–2026, is now exploring the institutionalization of blended learning.

Currently, blended learning is only implemented for Grades 7 to 10 students to ensure that classrooms are not overcrowded.

While a teacher center has already been set up to support the program, BHNHS Principal Joseph Palisoc admitted they continue to face technical challenges, especially with internet connectivity.

“Malaking challenge po 'yung pag-maintain ng website. Dahil nasimulan po 'nung nakaraang taon, na-improve po namin. Pero 'yung provider ng internet, doon nalalaglag minsan eh,” Palisoc said.

(Maintaining the website is a big challenge. We started it last year, and we’ve improved it, but sometimes the internet provider goes down.)

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Another heavily populated school, President Corazon Aquino Elementary School (PCAES), is also grappling with limited space.

The campus now hosts 8,500 enrolled students.

For Grades 1 to 3, two separate sections share a single 7-by-9-meter classroom, divided only by a thin wooden wall, making the space prone to noise and distractions. Each section has around 35 to 38 students.

“Kasi sa elementary, mas maliliit 'yong bata, ‘di po ba? So at least, hindi masyadong congested kahit po na hatiin natin 'yong mga classroom. Although we are not saying it’s okay, pero sa kanila, mas okay pa rin po talaga 'yong face-to-face [learning] kaysa 'yong blending,” Sedilla explained.

(In elementary, the kids are smaller, right? So it’s not too congested even if we divide the classrooms. We’re not saying it’s ideal, but for them, face-to-face learning is still better than blended.)

According to Sedilla, blended learning is only encouraged for more independent learners, typically those in Grades 4 and above, including high school.

To manage the student population, schools like PCAES also implement morning and afternoon class shifts.

Sedilla noted that PCAES is not alone in this setup as other schools also divide the standard 7-by-9-meter classrooms.

Meanwhile, Sedilla said the local government is working to provide additional electric fans, while some parents have started donating them as well.

According to ACT-National Capital Region, the country faces a shortage of 165,000 classrooms, adding schools in Metro Manila are among the most severely affected, with many forced to implement triple-shift classes and hold sessions in makeshift structures.

It also noted that several schools in Metro Manila were unable to implement a full face-to-face classes on Monday due to severe congestion and a lack of facilities.

“We have consistently demanded concrete action from the Marcos-Duterte administration. Our call to hire 30,000 new teachers annually and to build 50,000 classrooms each year until 2028 remains unheeded,” ACT-NCR Union President Ruby Bernardo stated.

“Meanwhile, billions continue to be wasted on confidential and intelligence funds while our students suffer in overcrowded, under-resourced classrooms.”

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