The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday launched the sector’s first Classroom Summit to help address the construction delays amid public schools’ classroom shortage in the country.

In a statement, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said the initiative will advance collaboration among various sectors and promote transparency and accountability in education infrastructure.

“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,” he said.

Select representatives from various government agencies, private contractors, local government units and development partners have participated in the summit.

“DepEd is committed to working with various actors both in and out of government to make the President’s plan succeed,” Angara said.

During the summit, the Strategic Resource Inventory for Deployment Efficiency (STRIDE) Dashboard was launched to allow DepEd field offices to utilize mapped data in modifying needs and coming up with “more grounded” decisions.

The STRIDE Dashboard also serves as a platform to gather data on enrollment, staffing and infrastructure.

Besides the launch of STRIDE, the summit also provided engagements with contractors, suppliers and other partners to promote planning and procurement readiness.

It also covered sessions on contractor accreditation, climate-resilient designs, financing options and implementation of contracts.

Stakeholders, through the summit, were also able to review classroom prototypes and discuss construction capacity ahead of a more flexible infrastructure program under DepEd in 2026.

Earlier, the DepEd accounted for an estimated 165,000 classroom backlogs nationwide in 2022. (PNA)