EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
'#Oitr of iiic ifercrftar^
S E N A T E
S. No. 1190
■19 NOV 25 P4 ;58
RECti 
j ‘: v
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT
REGULATING CLASS SIZE IN  ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR
Explanatory Note
Education is the foundation of our nation. As enshrined in Article XIV, Section 1 of 
the 1987 Constitution, the "State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality 
education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such an education 
accessible to all".
Of the estimated 68 million Filipino aged 10 years of old and over in 2008, 95.6 
percent basically literate while functional literacy rate is at 86.4 percent.1 The high literacy 
rate in the country was achieved through the campaign of the government, particularly 
DepEd, to bring more school-age children to school.2
However, it is not enough to just bring in students to school. We must ensure that 
learning actually happens once they are in school. Class size is one factor to consider when 
evaluating a school's effectiveness. Education researchers have found that class size 
reduction in the early grade helps students achieve because there is a greater opportunity 
for individual interaction between student and teacher in a small class. Based on a large 
number of studies, smaller classes have witnessed positive and sometimes enduring effects 
on student achievement, especially for ethnic minority students and students from socio­
1 National Statistics Office 2008 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS). Basic literacy 
or simple literacy refers to the ability of a person to read and write with understanding a simple message in 
language or dialect. Functionally literate refers to a person who can | read, write and compute or one who can 
read, write, compute and comprehend.
2 https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/Iiteracy-daily/2015/08/06/literacy-in-the-philippines- the-stories- 
behind-the-numbers.


economic status groups.3 Studies have indeed shown that elementary schools with large 
classes were found to be detrimental to student learning.4
Unfortunately, limited resources resulted to a worsening shortage of teachers and 
classrooms. At the start of school year 2018, more or less 70% of the schools in Metro 
Manila are still implementing double shifts just to be able to accommodate the student 
population.5 In order to accommodate a growing school-age population, the Department of 
Education has coped with these shortages by allowing extremely large class sizes.
Classrooms in the Philippines are the most crowded in Asia. Some public schools 
including Navotas National High School and President Corazon Aquino Elementary School in 
Metro Manila, Gov DM Elementary School in Imus Cavite, and Malingao Elementary School in 
Midsayap, Cotabato are just glimpses of the class size problem. The country's public 
elementary school's average class size of 43.9 is far bigger than Malaysia's 31.7, Thailand's 
22.9, Japan's 28.6 and India's 40. In public secondary schools, the country registered an 
average size of 56.1, higher than Malaysia's 34, Thailand's 41.5, Japan's 33.9 and India's 39.
Further, oversized public school classes not only deny Filipino school children quality 
education but also deny teachers just compensation and humane working conditions. In the 
current system, a teacher handling a class of 70 students is in fact taking on the workload of 
two teachers, but without receiving any additional compensation. This practice of assigning 
oversized classes to teachers without extra pay is one instance where they are "overworked 
yet unpaid".
This bill seeks to address these concerns by mandating the regulation of class size in 
public schools and prescribing additional compensation for teachers handling large classes.
f o E
3 Folmer-Annevelink, Elvira, Simone Doolaard, Mayra Mascareno, and Roel J. Bosker. "Class Size Effects on The 
Number and Types od Student-Teacher Interactions in Primary Classrooms. " The Journal of Classroom 
Interaction 45, no. 2 (2010): 30-38. http://w w w .jstor.org/stable/23870349.
4 Ready, Douglas D., and Valerie E. Lee. "Optim al Context Size in Elementary Schools; Disentangling the Effects 
of Class Size and School Size." Brookings Papers on Education Policy, no. 9 (2006): 99-135. 
h h tp ://www.jstor.org/stable/20067279.
5 http://w w w . manilatimes.net/lack-of-classrooms-books-hound-june-4-school- opening/401388/.


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
S E N A T E
S. No. 1190
Jennie
of tl)f
*19 NOV 25 ?4 58
RECLi
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT
REGULATING CLASS SIZE IN  ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it  enacted b y the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Title.— J ]d\s Act shall be known as the "Class Size Act".
2 
Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policy. -  It is declared policy of the State to protect and
3 
promote the right of all citizens to quality education. It is likewise declared that the
4 
State shall provide just compensation and humane working conditions for public
5 
school teachers.
6 
Oversized classes in the country's public schools adversely affect the learning
7 
experience provided to Filipino school children. To ensure access to quality
8 
education, it is necessary to establish standards for class size.
9 
For their part, teachers are entitled to protection from unregulated increases
10 
in class size as well as to compensation commensurate to their actual workload.
11 
Sec. 3. Coverage. -T h is  Act shall apply to all classes in all public schools of
12 
the Department of Education, and to all classroom teachers therein, whether paid by
13 
the national or local government.
14 
Sec. 4. Standard Class Size. -  Each class to be handled by a single teacher
15 
shall have a standard size of 35 students. For purposes of this Act, any class with
16 
not more than 35 students be considered a standard class.
1


1 
Sec. 5. Large Class Size. -  Any class exceeding 35 students up to a maximum
2 
of 50 students shall be considered a large class. In no case shall a class size in
3 
excess of 50 students be permitted.
4 
Sec. 6. Large Class Honorarium. -  A teacher handiing a large class shall be
5 
entitled to a large honorarium equivalent to one percent (1.0% ) of her daily rate for
6 
every student in excess of the standard ciass size of 35.
7 
This formuia shali apply to all classes assigned to the teacher during the
8 
schooi year.
9 
Sec. 7. Im plem enting Rules and Regulations. -The Department of Education
10 
shall within a period of thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate
11 
the rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this Act.
12 
Sec. 8. Appropriations. -The amount of Five Billion Pesos (P5,000/000) is
13 
hereby appropriated for the initial implementation of this Act. Thereafter, such sums
14 
as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included
15 
in the appropriations for the Department of Education in the annual General
16 
Appropriations Act.
17 
Sec. 9. Separability Clause. -  If any portion or provision of this Act is held
18 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affect thereby shall
19 
remain in force and effect.
20 
Sec. 10. Repealing Clause. -  Any iaw, presidentiai decree or issuance
21 
executive order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the
22 
provisions of this Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
23 
Sec. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shail take effect after fifteen (15) days following
24 
its compiete pubiication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation
25 
Approved,