The numbers say yes, but the voices of Gen Z say it louder
Whether it’s students cramming in classrooms without chairs, teachers running classes without laptops, or parents losing sleep over extra expenses with little return—there’s a shared, uncomfortable feeling across the country: this isn’t working.
And for the generation raised on TikTok, instant information, and constant innovation, a broken education system feels like dial-up internet in a fiber-optic world.
So, is the Philippine education system failing Gen Z? Let’s break down the receipts.
Students Are Falling Behind in Reading, Math, and Basic Thinking Skills
The pandemic made a mess of education systems worldwide, but the Philippines saw one of the worst outcomes.
Schools were closed for over 70 weeks—the longest shutdown globally as of 2022. During that time, learning continued on paper, via radio, or through barely working tablets—for those lucky enough to have one.
The result? An estimated 9 in 10 Filipino children aged 10 couldn’t read or understand a basic text by 2022.
On a global scale, Filipino 15-year-olds ranked in the bottom 4 out of 81 countries in creative thinking according to the 2022 PISA test. In reading, math, and science literacy, the Philippines landed around 77th place—about 5 to 6 years behind OECD peers.
If Gen Z students are the future, right now they’re being set up to play catch-up for the rest of their lives.
The Laptop Fiasco Didn’t Just Fail Teachers—It Undermined Students Too
The infamous 2021 DepEd laptop scandal didn’t just waste money; it pulled the plug on students’ chances of better digital learning.
The Department of Education, via the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), spent over ₱2.4 billion on laptops priced at ₱58,000 each—far more than the market price of around ₱22,000.
Because of the price inflation, only 39,583 laptops were bought instead of 68,500. That left about 28,917 teachers without the tools they needed to hold digital classes. S
o imagine being a Gen Z student expected to join online classes while your teacher is squinting into a decade-old monitor that lags with every click.
Even the Ombudsman stepped in. In July 2025, charges were filed against former DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones and others involved.
Gen Z Classrooms Are Packed, Hot, and Falling Apart
It’s 2025 and public school students are still squatting on floors or sharing broken chairs.
DepEd currently faces a shortage of around 165,000 classrooms nationwide. To manage overcrowding, schools run two shifts per day. One teacher juggles 45 to 60 students per class, far above the ideal 35:1 ratio.
The classroom backlog is barely shrinking. In 2023, DepEd aimed to build 6,379 new classrooms—it completed just 192.
That’s not a typo. Only 3% of the target.
It doesn’t stop with space. Computers are scarce. According to the Commission on Audit (COA), only 1 computer is available for every 9 students, and 30 teachers often share one unit.
And the environment? Stifling. No ventilation, no proper lighting, and no functional toilets in many public schools.
Even President Marcos Jr. found school restrooms without water during his visits.
Teachers Are Burning Out and Giving Up
Teaching Gen Z in 2025 means navigating outdated curriculum, overcrowded classes, and underwhelming pay.
Between 2022 and 2023, over 21,000 teachers left the public school system. Meanwhile, around 89,000 teaching positions remain unfilled.
Why? Low pay and zero promotion opportunities.
The average entry-level teacher earns less than what’s considered a living wage, and many never get promoted despite years of service.
Teachers’ groups have had enough. Vladimer Quetua of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers summed it up:
“Teachers are forced to bear the crippling weight of the education crisis while the government practically abandons its duty”.
Parents and Students Are Losing Faith in the System
The K-12 program was sold as a game-changer.
In reality, it added two extra years of schooling that most families couldn’t afford and employers didn’t value. A Pulse Asia survey found that 42% of respondents were dissatisfied with Senior High School. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian admitted that families feel the burden without seeing results.
As for Gen Z students? They’re frustrated but still hopeful.
“It’s hard to focus in a crowded classroom, but we keep pushing because we know education is key,”
Said a seventh grader from Cebu. Still, their optimism deserves better infrastructure, better funding, and an actual shot at learning.
Compared to Neighbors, the PH System Is Clearly Falling Behind
Everyone struggled during the pandemic, but few countries kept their schools closed as long as the Philippines.
In places like Vietnam and Malaysia, literacy bounced back quickly. In contrast, the Philippines recorded the highest learning poverty rate in the region at 91%.
The average spending on education here is under 3% of GDP—lower than neighbors like Thailand or Indonesia, which offer smaller class sizes, better facilities, and fewer teacher vacancies. And they don’t have multi-billion peso laptop scandals.
This Generation Can’t Afford More Delays
Gen Z doesn’t need sympathy.
They need working classrooms, paid teachers, functioning laptops, and textbooks that arrive before exams. And they need all of that now.
Every year we wait is another year students fall behind. This isn’t about catching up with Singapore—it’s about making sure our own kids can read a paragraph by age 10 and understand what it means.
The education system is failing Gen Z. The question now is: how long will we let it?
