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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
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OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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SEN1\TE 
S. No. 1892 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 14 providGs: 
Section 1. 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 
education accessible to all. 
Section 2. The State shall: 
(l) 
Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and 
integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society; 
Class size is one factor to consider when evaluating a school's effectiveness. Education 
researchers have found that Class size reduction in the early grades helps students achieve 
because there is a greater 0ppoliunity for individual interaction between student and teacher in a 
small class. But the government reduction in public spending on education has resulted to a 
worsening shortage of teachers and classrooms. Based on data culled from the Department of 
Education, public schools face a short~ge of 46,567 teachers and 32,844 classrooms in school 
year 2013-2014. 
In order to accommodate a growing school-age population, the Department of Education 
has coped with these shortages by allowing extremely large class sizes. In urban areas, it is no 
longer uncommon to see teachers handling classes with 60-80 students. According to data from 
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for 
Statistics, classrooms in the Philippines are the most crowded in Asia. The conntry's public 
dementary schooJ's ayerage cl",ss size of 43.9 is far bigger than Malaysia's 31.7, Thailand's 
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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. 
The proliferation of grossly oversiied classes is one of the main causes of the marked 
decline in the quality of education provided by public schools. No matter how competent a 
teacher may be, the teaching and learning experience is adversely affected when there are too 
many students in a class. Reducing class size is an appealing and visible way for states and 
public schools to show that they are improving the quality of education. A smaller class size 
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allows teachers to devote more ,time to instruction and quality classroom activities. It also paves 
the way for an increase in student achievement, fewer discipline problems, and improvement in 
teacher morale and retention. 
Therefore, the ovei'sized classes found 'in public school classrooms today violate the 
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Constitutionally-guaranteed right of Filipino school children to quality education. Oversized 
classes also violate the right of teachers to just compensation and hlllllane 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 of the mechanisms by which they are 
"overworked, yet underpaid." 
This bill seeks to address these concerns by mandating the regulation of class size in 
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public schools and prescribing additional compensation for teachers handling large classes. 
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MIRIAM DEFAtSOR S T~ 
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• This bill was OI.'iginaliy filed in the House of Representative by Rep, Antonio L. Tinio in the 16'" Congress, 
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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S. No. 1892 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
REGULATING CLASS SIZE IN ALL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY 
AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Public School Class Size Law 
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of2013." 
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SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy - It is the declared policy of the State to protect and 
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promote the right of all citizens to quality education. It is likewise declared the policy of the 
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State to provide just compensation and humane working conditions for public school teachers. 
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Oversized classes in the country's public schools adversely affect the learning experience 
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of Filipino schoolchildren. To ensure access to quality education, it is necessary to establish 
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standards for class size. 
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For their part, teachers are entitled to protection from unregulated increases in class size 
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as well as to compensation commensurate to their actual workload. 
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SECTION 3. Standard Class Size. - In all public elementary and secondary schools in 
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the country, each class to be handled by a single teacher shall have a standard size of 35 or less 
• 16. students. For purposes of this Act, any class with not more than 35 students shall be considered 
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a standard class. 
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SECTION 4. Large Class Size. - Any class with more than 35 students up to a 
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maximum of 50 studellts shall be considered a large class. In no case shall a class size in excess 
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of 50 students be permitted. 
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SECTION 5. Large Class Honora1'ium. - A teacher handling a large class shall be 
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entitled to a large class honorarium equivalent to one percent (1.0 %) of her daily rate for every 
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student in excess of the standard class size of35. 
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SECTION 6. Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this 
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Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Budget and Management, 
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shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to implement this Act. 
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SECTION 7. Appropriations. - The necessary amount for the initial implementation of 
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this Act shall be charged to the appropriations of the Department of Education under the current 
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General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary for its continued 
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implementation shall be included in the appropriations of the Department of Education in the 
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annual General Appropriations Act. 
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SECTION 8. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part thereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or the pro~ision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 9. Repealing Clause.- Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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