# How Much Does a Classroom Cost in the Philippines?

A new public school classroom on the SBP 2026 list is budgeted at a median PHP 3.03 million; the middle half of lines run PHP 3.00 to 3.67 million.

This is the Markdown copy of [How Much Does a Classroom Cost in the Philippines?](https://nash.com.ph/blog/cost-to-build-classroom-philippines), an article on the NASH Reviewer Blog by Mark Anthony Llego, published Oct 28, 2026, updated Nov 4, 2026. Topics: DepEd data, School resources. NASH Reviewer is an independent practice platform not affiliated with DepEd, BHROD, or NEAP.

Building a public school classroom in the Philippines is budgeted at about PHP 3 million. On DepEd's School Building Program (SBP) 2026 list, as published in the EDCOM II classroom construction dashboard, the median budget per classroom in new classroom buildings funded under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2026 is PHP 3.03 million, and the middle half of lines fall between PHP 3.00 million and PHP 3.67 million per classroom. Taken together, the 3,559 lines allocate PHP 52.49 billion for 15,108 classrooms, or PHP 3.47 million per classroom.

The amount depends on who builds and what. The median is PHP 3.25 million on lines implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), PHP 3.00 million on lines implemented by provinces, cities and municipalities, and PHP 5.57 million on DepEd's own Last Mile School lines, whose scope usually also lists furniture, solar power, water and toilets. Two-story buildings are budgeted higher per classroom than one-story ones. Once the number of stories, the size of the line and the region are held equal, DPWH and LGU lines barely differ.

Every figure is an allocation on paper, not a contract price or a final cost; the final cost is set at bidding and award. The post is written for teachers, school heads and aspiring school heads who write classroom needs into a school improvement plan, talk with their LGU or division about a building, or cite costs in a thesis or an action research paper. Every file behind it is listed on the [EDCOM II classroom data page](https://nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data).

## Key findings

- The median budget per classroom in SBP 2026 new classroom buildings with a GAA 2026 budget is PHP 3.03 million, and the middle half of the 3,559 lines fall between PHP 3.00 million and PHP 3.67 million.
- Budgets cluster at round amounts: 955 lines, 26.8% of the total, are allocated exactly PHP 3 million per classroom, and 7.8% exactly PHP 3.50 million.
- DPWH lines have a median of PHP 3.25 million and LGU lines PHP 3.00 million, but with the number of stories, line size and region held equal, DPWH lines differ from provincial LGU lines by only +0.4% (95% interval -1.4% to +2.2%).
- DepEd's Last Mile School lines have a median of PHP 5.57 million per classroom, 92.0% above provincial LGU lines with the other factors held equal, and 95.3% of them also list school furniture.
- With the other factors held equal, two-story buildings are budgeted 15.1% more per classroom than one-story buildings, and each doubling of the classrooms on a line goes with 3.5% less per classroom.
- By region, the median runs from PHP 2.50 million in Region IX to PHP 4.00 million in NCR.
- Learning Continuity Spaces, DepEd's prefabricated rooms, have a median budget of PHP 2.15 million per unit, and EDCOM II's FY 2026 figures for DPWH-led classrooms work out to PHP 3.58 million per classroom.

## Which classrooms the PHP 3.03 million describes

The SBP 2026 masterlist has 5,652 lines. Classified by their scope of work, 4,834 of them are new classroom buildings; the rest install prefabricated Learning Continuity Spaces, complete buildings already started, or are other works. Of the new buildings, 1,274 lines, with 16,305 classrooms, belong to PSIP III, the third Public-Private Partnership for School Infrastructure Project. They are still for bidding, with construction expected from March 2027 to July 2028, and their budget column reads "N/A (For Bidding)". EDCOM II has reported that PSIP III uses an "availability payment" model (EDCOM II, 2026, February 9), so its cost will not take the form of a line budget.

That leaves the new classroom buildings with a GAA 2026 budget: 3,559 lines, implemented by DPWH, by provinces, cities and municipalities, or by DepEd under its Last Mile School modality, with 15,108 classrooms and PHP 52.49 billion. For each line, the budget per classroom is its budget divided by its classrooms. [DepEd School Building Program 2026 in Numbers](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-school-building-program-2026) describes the whole list.

There are three common ways to sum up these budgets, and they answer slightly different questions. Line up the 3,559 lines from the lowest budget per classroom to the highest: the line in the middle is the median, PHP 3.03 million, so half of the lines are budgeted at less per classroom and half at more. Adding up every line's budget per classroom and dividing by the number of lines gives the mean, PHP 3.43 million, which is higher because a few very expensive lines pull it up. Dividing the total budget by the total classrooms, PHP 3.47 million, gives every classroom the same weight, so large lines count for more. For a typical building, use the median; for costing many classrooms at once, the total divided by classrooms is closer to what a program spends per room.

The same lineup gives the other points in the table. The point below which the lowest tenth of lines fall is the 10th percentile, and the point below which the lowest quarter fall is the first quartile; the third quartile and the 90th percentile mark the same points from the top.

| Summary of budget per classroom (3,559 lines) | Value             |
|:----------------------------------------------|:------------------|
| Lowest line                                   | PHP 0.50 million  |
| 10th percentile                               | PHP 2.50 million  |
| First quartile                                | PHP 3.00 million  |
| Median                                        | PHP 3.03 million  |
| Mean of the lines                             | PHP 3.43 million  |
| Total budget divided by total classrooms      | PHP 3.47 million  |
| Third quartile                                | PHP 3.67 million  |
| 90th percentile                               | PHP 4.65 million  |
| Highest line                                  | PHP 25.70 million |

## How budgets per classroom are spread

The chart counts the 3,559 lines by their budget per classroom, in bands a quarter of a million pesos wide. A tall bar means many lines share that budget; the dashed line marks the median.

![Histogram of budget per classroom for 3,559 SBP 2026 new classroom building lines. Most lines fall between PHP 2.50 million and PHP 4.00 million; the tallest bar, starting at PHP 3.00 million, holds over 1,000 lines, a second peak sits just above PHP 2.50 million, and a thin tail runs to the right, with lines above PHP 10 million drawn at 10. The dashed median line is at PHP 3.03 million.](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/classroom-cost-per-classroom-distribution.CXo-f_IO_1hs6Mi.webp)

*Figure 1. Budget per classroom in SBP 2026 new classroom buildings with a GAA 2026 budget, by number of lines; lines above PHP 10 million are drawn at 10. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/classroom-cost-per-classroom-distribution.png).*

The budgets pile up at a few round amounts. 955 lines, 26.8% of the total, are allocated exactly PHP 3 million per classroom, to the nearest thousand pesos, and 7.8% exactly PHP 3.50 million. Below the peak, 23.1% of lines have less than PHP 3.00 million per classroom; above it, 14.9% have more than PHP 4.00 million. The masterlist does not record how each budget was set. The clustering is why the median sits so close to PHP 3 million.

The middle half is the range that holds the central half of lines, from the first quartile, PHP 3.00 million, to the third quartile, PHP 3.67 million. Further out, one line in ten is budgeted at PHP 2.50 million per classroom or less (the 10th percentile) and one in ten at PHP 4.65 million or more (the 90th percentile). The extremes are far apart: the lowest line has PHP 0.50 million per classroom and the highest PHP 25.70 million. Values that far from the rest may be correct, for example where a budget covers more or less than a whole building, or may be slips in the source; they are kept, and the median is not moved by them.

## Budget per classroom by modality: DPWH, LGU and DepEd

Five implementing modalities build the funded classrooms: DPWH, provinces, cities, municipalities, and DepEd's Last Mile School program.

| Modality                  |   Lines |   Classrooms |   Median per classroom | Middle half                          |   10th percentile |   90th percentile |
|:--------------------------|--------:|-------------:|-----------------------:|:-------------------------------------|------------------:|------------------:|
| DPWH                      |   1,352 |        6,066 |       PHP 3.25 million | PHP 2.63 million to PHP 3.75 million |  PHP 2.50 million |  PHP 4.25 million |
| LGU (province)            |   1,167 |        4,319 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 2.80 million to PHP 3.50 million |  PHP 2.50 million |  PHP 4.00 million |
| LGU (city)                |     470 |        2,789 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.50 million |  PHP 2.60 million |  PHP 4.19 million |
| LGU (municipality)        |     400 |        1,432 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.33 million |  PHP 2.50 million |  PHP 3.67 million |
| DepEd (Last Mile Schools) |     170 |          502 |       PHP 5.57 million | PHP 4.62 million to PHP 7.36 million |  PHP 3.78 million |  PHP 8.45 million |

DPWH lines have the highest median outside DepEd, PHP 3.25 million, and the widest middle half among them, PHP 2.63 million to PHP 3.75 million. The three LGU modalities share a median of PHP 3.00 million; for cities and municipalities, the lower edge of the middle half is also PHP 3.00 million, a sign of how many of their lines sit at that amount. DepEd's Last Mile School lines stand apart: their middle half, PHP 4.62 million to PHP 7.36 million, lies wholly above the others, and even their 10th percentile, PHP 3.78 million, is above every other modality's median.

Are these differences larger than chance would produce? Budgets per classroom are skewed, with a long tail of expensive lines, and they pile up at round amounts, so a test built on averages would be pulled around by a few lines. A rank test avoids this. It lines up all 3,559 lines from the lowest budget per classroom to the highest and asks whether some modalities' lines sit consistently higher in that order than chance would allow. A very expensive line simply takes the top rank, so it cannot drive the result.

This is the Kruskal–Wallis test (Kruskal & Wallis, 1952). Its statistic, H, is 386.7 with 4 degrees of freedom, p < 0.001: the five modalities clearly differ. The size of the difference is measured with an eta-squared based on H (Tomczak & Tomczak, 2014), which estimates the share of the variation in ranks that goes with the modality. It is 0.11, about a tenth, a moderate effect. [DepEd School Building Program 2026 in Numbers](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-school-building-program-2026) ran the same test on three groups, DPWH, LGU and DepEd, and found H = 384.5 with the same effect size.

## Do taller buildings cost more per classroom?

Most DPWH and LGU lines describe their building with a code: 2STY4CL means a two-story building with four classrooms. Of the 3,559 lines, 3,418 give a height. The chart shows the median and middle half of the budget per classroom for each modality and height.

![Dot-and-line chart of the median and middle half of budget per classroom by modality and number of stories. For DPWH and the three LGU modalities, one-story buildings center on PHP 3.00 million, and taller buildings mostly sit between PHP 3.00 million and PHP 4.00 million, with provincial LGU buildings of four or more stories the highest of these. DepEd Last Mile School lines, shown only as one-story buildings, have a median above PHP 5 million and a middle half reaching past PHP 7 million.](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/classroom-cost-by-modality-and-storeys.CZh69Sqt_2qVNsP.webp)

*Figure 2. Median (dot) and middle half (line) of the budget per classroom by implementing modality and number of stories, SBP 2026 new classroom buildings; groups with under 10 lines are left out. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/classroom-cost-by-modality-and-storeys.png).*

In every DPWH and LGU group, the one-story dot sits at PHP 3.00 million, and the dots for taller buildings sit at or to the right of it. DepEd's Last Mile School lines appear only as one-story buildings, since their other heights have fewer than 10 lines each, and they lie far to the right of everything else.

| Stories           |   Lines |   Median per classroom | Middle half                          | DPWH median (lines)    | LGU median (lines)       |
|:------------------|--------:|-----------------------:|:-------------------------------------|:-----------------------|:-------------------------|
| 1 story           |   2,072 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 2.75 million to PHP 3.50 million | PHP 3.00 million (673) | PHP 3.00 million (1,234) |
| 2 stories         |     959 |       PHP 3.50 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.75 million | PHP 3.75 million (406) | PHP 3.33 million (553)   |
| 3 stories         |     140 |       PHP 3.33 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 4.04 million | PHP 3.33 million (85)  | PHP 3.33 million (55)    |
| 4 or more stories |     247 |       PHP 3.33 million | PHP 2.88 million to PHP 3.98 million | PHP 3.13 million (123) | PHP 3.56 million (124)   |

One-story buildings have a median of PHP 3.00 million per classroom and two-story buildings PHP 3.50 million; buildings of three stories or more have a median of PHP 3.33 million. Within DPWH, two-story lines have a median of PHP 3.75 million against PHP 3.00 million for one story; within LGU lines, PHP 3.33 million against PHP 3.00 million. Across the 3,418 lines, Spearman's rank correlation (Spearman, 1904) between stories and budget per classroom is 0.23: taller tends to go with more per classroom, but weakly.

The number of classrooms on a line tells a similar story:

| Classrooms on the line   |   Lines |   Median per classroom | Middle half                          |
|:-------------------------|--------:|-----------------------:|:-------------------------------------|
| 1 classroom              |     139 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.00 million |
| 2 classrooms             |   1,177 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 2.50 million to PHP 3.50 million |
| 3 to 4                   |   1,403 |       PHP 3.33 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.75 million |
| 5 to 8                   |     538 |       PHP 3.33 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.67 million |
| 9 or more                |     302 |       PHP 3.29 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.99 million |

The 139 single-classroom lines have a middle half of exactly PHP 3.00 million at both ends. Lines with three or more classrooms have medians of PHP 3.29 million to PHP 3.33 million, and the rank correlation between line size and budget per classroom is 0.18. Raw comparisons like these mix things that overlap: modality, height, line size and region. The model in the next section separates them.

## What goes with a higher budget per classroom, other things equal

A raw comparison of two groups can mislead when the groups differ in other ways. If one implementer builds more two-story buildings, or works more in regions with higher budgets, its median will be higher even if it budgets the same as others for the same building. A regression model compares lines while holding the other factors equal.

The model predicts each line's budget per classroom from four things at once: its modality, its number of stories, the number of classrooms on the line, and its region. The region enters as a separate baseline for each region (region fixed effects), so lines are compared only with lines in the same region. The budget is taken as a logarithm, so each result reads as a percentage difference: +15.1% means 15.1% more per classroom than the comparison group, other things equal. The number of classrooms is also taken as a logarithm, so its result is the difference for each doubling of the classrooms on a line. The comparison group is a one-story building on a provincial LGU line. Formally, this is a log-linear regression fitted by ordinary least squares.

Budgets spread much more in some groups than in others; DepEd's lines, for example, spread far wider than LGU lines. Ordinary standard errors assume an even spread, so the model uses heteroskedasticity-consistent standard errors of the type known as HC3 (MacKinnon & White, 1985), which stay reliable when the spread differs. It covers the 3,418 lines with a known height, and its R-squared is 0.33: the four factors account for a third of the variation in the (logged) budget per classroom, and the rest lies in things the masterlist does not record.

| Term                                        |   Difference in budget per classroom | 95% interval      | p-value   |
|:--------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------:|:------------------|:----------|
| DPWH (vs LGU province)                      |                                +0.4% | -1.4% to +2.2%    | p = 0.692 |
| LGU (city) (vs LGU province)                |                                -1.0% | -3.3% to +1.4%    | p = 0.406 |
| LGU (municipality) (vs LGU province)        |                                -0.2% | -2.1% to +1.7%    | p = 0.798 |
| DepEd (Last Mile Schools) (vs LGU province) |                               +92.0% | +81.2% to +103.6% | p < 0.001 |
| 2 stories (vs 1 story)                      |                               +15.1% | +12.2% to +18.0%  | p < 0.001 |
| 3 stories (vs 1 story)                      |                               +15.9% | +8.3% to +24.1%   | p < 0.001 |
| 4 or more stories (vs 1 story)              |                                +9.0% | +2.5% to +15.9%   | p = 0.006 |
| Each doubling of classrooms on the line     |                                -3.5% | -5.2% to -1.8%    | p < 0.001 |

Once stories, line size and region are held equal, DPWH, city and municipal lines differ from provincial LGU lines by 1.0% or less, and every interval includes zero: DPWH lines are +0.4% (-1.4% to +2.2%), city lines -1.0% (-3.3% to +1.4%) and municipal lines -0.2% (-2.1% to +1.7%). The raw gap between DPWH's median of PHP 3.25 million and the LGUs' PHP 3.00 million goes with the kind of building and the region, not with the implementer as such.

DepEd's Last Mile School lines are the exception, at +92.0% (+81.2% to +103.6%), nearly double. Two- and three-story buildings are budgeted 15.1% and 15.9% more per classroom than one-story buildings, and buildings of four or more stories 9.0% more (+2.5% to +15.9%). Each doubling of the classrooms on a line goes with 3.5% less per classroom (-5.2% to -1.8%): once height is held equal, bigger lines are budgeted slightly less per room, although in the raw figures they look slightly more expensive. The model shows how budgets line up with these features on paper; it cannot show how any budget was set.

## Last Mile School buildings: what the budget bundles

DepEd's Last Mile School modality has 170 lines with 502 classrooms and PHP 2.98 billion. Last Mile Schools are in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged and Conflict-Affected Areas (GIDCAs) and hardship posts (EDCOM II, 2026). Unlike most DPWH and LGU lines, which give only a building code, these lines spell out the work, and most name more than a building:

- 95.3% of the lines list school furniture;
- 91.2% list a toilet;
- 89.4% list water, typically a rainwater collector or water system;
- 87.6% list solar power;
- 9.4% list a fence, and 2.9% a gate.

So a Last Mile School budget per classroom usually covers a furnished room with a toilet, water and power, at a school in an isolated or disadvantaged area. A DPWH or LGU line may also cover some of these, but its scope text does not say, so the 92.0% difference in the model is not a measure of efficiency or of what the same room costs in a remote place. As [DepEd School Building Program 2026 in Numbers](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-school-building-program-2026) notes, on 25 Last Mile School lines the scope text names more classrooms than the count used here; counting by the text would lower their budget per classroom. [Last Mile Schools: Classroom Need and 2026 Allocation](https://nash.com.ph/blog/last-mile-schools-classroom-shortage) looks at these schools in detail.

## Learning Continuity Spaces and EDCOM II's figures

Learning Continuity Spaces are DepEd's prefabricated rooms, which, as the name says, aim to keep classes going, for example where rooms are damaged or unsafe. They are not permanent classroom buildings, so they are left out of the figures above. The list has 798 such lines with 805 units and PHP 2.17 billion. The median budget per unit is PHP 2.15 million, and the total budget divided by the total units is PHP 2.69 million.

EDCOM II's 20 October 2026 news release reports that the FY 2026 program had PHP 21.45 billion for 6,000 DPWH-led classrooms, and that at the 16 October 2026 hearing PHP 1.87 billion, covering 533 classrooms, had reached the award or near-award stage (EDCOM II, 2026, October 20). Dividing EDCOM II's totals by the classrooms gives PHP 3.58 million per classroom for the program and PHP 3.51 million for the classrooms at or near award. These are EDCOM II's totals divided by classrooms, not figures EDCOM II reported. As averages, they compare with the PHP 3.47 million total-over-total figure here rather than with the median.

The same release says that for FY 2027 the National Expenditure Program proposes PHP 30.55 billion for classroom construction, with an additional request of PHP 23.5 billion from DepEd, for 2,385 new classrooms, 69 Last Mile School buildings, 500 Learning Continuity Spaces and the repair of 3,500 classrooms, among others. Those totals cover several kinds of work, so they cannot be divided into a cost per classroom.

## Budget per classroom by region

The chart ranks the regions by their median budget per classroom, with the number of lines behind each.

![Horizontal bars of the median budget per classroom by region, SBP 2026 new classroom buildings, with the number of lines. NCR is highest at PHP 4.00 million (59 lines), then Region III at PHP 3.68 million (404 lines); eight regions sit at PHP 3.00 million, and Region IX is lowest at PHP 2.50 million (168 lines).](https://nash.com.ph/blog/_astro/classroom-cost-by-region.cEEsvTTl_2cMehv.webp)

*Figure 3. Median budget per classroom by region, SBP 2026 new classroom buildings with a GAA 2026 budget; number of lines in parentheses. Chart: © 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. [Download the full-resolution chart (PNG)](https://nash.com.ph/blog/charts/deped-data/classroom-cost-by-region.png).*

| Region      |   Lines |   Median per classroom | Middle half                          |
|:------------|--------:|-----------------------:|:-------------------------------------|
| NCR         |      59 |       PHP 4.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 5.88 million |
| CAR         |     164 |       PHP 3.63 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 5.00 million |
| Region I    |     250 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.50 million |
| Region II   |     275 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 2.63 million to PHP 3.41 million |
| Region III  |     404 |       PHP 3.68 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 4.25 million |
| Region IV-A |     224 |       PHP 3.33 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.75 million |
| MIMAROPA    |     189 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 2.56 million to PHP 3.33 million |
| Region V    |     240 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.50 million |
| Region VI   |     220 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.50 million |
| NIR         |     204 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.49 million |
| Region VII  |     187 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 2.50 million to PHP 3.33 million |
| Region VIII |     283 |       PHP 3.03 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.48 million |
| Region IX   |     168 |       PHP 2.50 million | PHP 2.50 million to PHP 3.00 million |
| Region X    |     230 |       PHP 3.26 million | PHP 2.50 million to PHP 3.60 million |
| Region XI   |     138 |       PHP 3.33 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.89 million |
| Region XII  |     141 |       PHP 3.00 million | PHP 2.50 million to PHP 3.50 million |
| CARAGA      |     135 |       PHP 3.20 million | PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.50 million |
| BARMM       |      48 |       PHP 3.33 million | PHP 2.98 million to PHP 3.50 million |

NCR has the highest median, PHP 4.00 million, and the widest middle half, up to PHP 5.88 million, but it rests on only 59 lines; only BARMM, with 48, has fewer. Region III (PHP 3.68 million) and CAR (PHP 3.63 million) follow. Eight regions have a median of exactly PHP 3.00 million, and Region IX has the lowest, PHP 2.50 million, where even the upper edge of the middle half is PHP 3.00 million. Sulu is counted in Region IX here, since its schools division moved to DepEd Region IX on 20 October 2026.

Regional medians mix several things: the modalities and building heights each region's lines use, local conditions, and how budgets were written. The model above holds region equal when it compares modalities and heights; it does not explain why regions differ, and these data cannot.

## What this means for school heads

- **Use about PHP 3 million per classroom as a starting figure, with its range.** In a project proposal or the [school improvement plan](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-school-improvement-plan), cite the median, PHP 3.03 million, and the middle half, PHP 3.00 million to PHP 3.67 million, and say they are SBP 2026 allocations from the EDCOM II dashboard.
- **Price the whole package, not only the room.** A usable classroom needs furniture, and many schools also need toilets, water and power. Last Mile School lines list these and are budgeted at a median of PHP 5.57 million per classroom; ask what a DPWH or LGU line will and will not cover.
- **Count the stories.** With other factors equal, two-story buildings are budgeted 15.1% more per classroom than one-story buildings. On a small site, the extra cost may be what it takes to fit the rooms; say so in the request.
- **Compare like with like.** Set your school's line beside the median for the same modality and height, not the national median. A one-story LGU building and a Last Mile School building with toilets and solar power are different projects.
- **Check your school's line.** Download the SBP lines file and filter it by your school ID: each line gives the modality, the scope of work, the classrooms and the budget. If a figure looks far from the rest, raise it with the division before it is used for planning.
- **Read PSIP III lines differently.** A PSIP III line has no budget on the list; it is still for bidding, with construction expected from March 2027 to July 2028, so the SIP needs a plan for the years before.

## How these numbers were made

The data are the SBP 2026 masterlist from the EDCOM II classroom construction dashboard, cleaned for this series; [How the EDCOM Classroom Data Was Cleaned](https://nash.com.ph/blog/edcom-classroom-data-cleaned) documents every cleaning rule. The analysis was done in Python with pandas, statsmodels and SciPy, and the charts drawn with Matplotlib.

- **Sample.** Lines whose scope of work is classified as a new classroom building (`scope_category`), with a budget, implemented by DPWH, LGU - PROVINCE, LGU - CITY, LGU - MUNICIPALITY or DEPED - LMS: 3,559 lines. PSIP III lines have no budget and are left out, as are Learning Continuity Spaces and completions.
- **Budget per classroom.** The line's GAA 2026 budget (`budget_php`) divided by its classrooms (`classrooms`). A line is at exactly PHP 3 million, or PHP 3.50 million, when its budget per classroom equals that amount after rounding to the nearest thousand pesos.
- **Height.** The tallest building a line names, read from codes such as 2STY4CL or from spelled-out text (`scope_max_storeys`), known for 3,418 lines.
- **Kruskal–Wallis test.** Five modalities, 4 degrees of freedom. The effect size is H minus the number of groups plus one, divided by the number of lines minus the number of groups.
- **Rank correlations.** Spearman's rho between stories and budget per classroom (3,418 lines) and between classrooms on the line and budget per classroom (3,559 lines).
- **Regression model.** Ordinary least squares of the natural logarithm of the budget per classroom on the modality (compared with provincial LGU lines), the height band (compared with one story), the base-2 logarithm of the classrooms on the line, and a separate baseline for each region. Standard errors are HC3. Each coefficient b is reported as a percentage difference, e to the power b, minus 1; its 95% interval ends are converted the same way.
- **Last Mile School scope.** The share of the 170 Last Mile School lines whose scope text contains the word furniture, toilet, water, solar, fence or gate.
- **Learning Continuity Spaces.** Each line's budget divided by its units; the median of these, and the total budget divided by the total units.
- **EDCOM II averages.** PHP 21.45 billion divided by 6,000 classrooms, and PHP 1.87 billion divided by 533 classrooms, from EDCOM II's 20 October 2026 news release.

## Limits

These are allocations, not contract prices or final costs. The final cost is set at bidding and award, and EDCOM II reported that only PHP 1.87 billion of the PHP 21.45 billion for DPWH-led classrooms had reached the award or near-award stage at its 16 October 2026 hearing. A line's budget can include more than the building, such as furniture, toilets, water, power or site works, and most DPWH and LGU lines do not say what else they cover. The comparisons show how allocations differ, not why, and not whether any budget is too high or too low.

Half of the SBP 2026 classrooms, the 16,305 under PSIP III, have no budget yet and will be paid for under a different model, so these figures say nothing about their cost. Many lines carry the same round amount per classroom, so small differences between medians, such as PHP 3.00 million against PHP 3.03 million, say little. The extreme values, PHP 0.50 million and PHP 25.70 million per classroom, are worth checking against the source before anyone quotes them.

The model shows associations: its four factors account for a third of the variation, and site conditions, access, soil, design and materials are not in the data. The figures are 2026 budgets; costs in other years will differ.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does it cost to build a classroom in the Philippines?

On DepEd's SBP 2026 list, the median budget for one classroom in a new classroom building funded under the GAA 2026 is PHP 3.03 million, and the middle half of lines fall between PHP 3.00 million and PHP 3.67 million per classroom. These are allocations, not final costs, and most lines do not record what they cover beyond the building.

### How much does DPWH budget per classroom?

On the 1,352 DPWH new-building lines with a budget, the median is PHP 3.25 million per classroom, and the middle half falls between PHP 2.63 million and PHP 3.75 million. With the number of stories, line size and region held equal, DPWH lines are budgeted about the same as provincial LGU lines, +0.4%.

### How much does a two-story school building cost per classroom?

On the 959 two-story lines, the median budget is PHP 3.50 million per classroom, against PHP 3.00 million for one-story buildings. With modality, line size and region held equal, two-story buildings are budgeted 15.1% more per classroom.

### Why do Last Mile School classrooms cost more?

The masterlist does not say why, but it shows what their budgets cover. Of the 170 Last Mile School lines, 95.3% also list school furniture, 91.2% a toilet, 89.4% water and 87.6% solar power, at schools in isolated, disadvantaged or conflict-affected areas. Their median is PHP 5.57 million per classroom, 92.0% above provincial LGU lines with other factors held equal.

## Download the data and cite this post

The cleaned EDCOM II classroom data behind this series are free to download for personal study; to reuse them, email [support@nash.com.ph](mailto:support@nash.com.ph) for written permission first. [How the EDCOM Classroom Data Was Cleaned](https://nash.com.ph/blog/edcom-classroom-data-cleaned) explains every table and cleaning rule. The files are at data.nash.com.ph: start with the [README](https://data.nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data/v1.1/README.md), then the [school table](https://data.nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data/v1.1/schools.parquet) (Parquet, or [CSV](https://data.nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data/v1.1/schools.csv.gz)), the [School Building Program lines](https://data.nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data/v1.1/sbp_projects.csv.gz) (CSV), the [city and municipality table](https://data.nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data/v1.1/lgu_summary.csv.gz) (CSV), and every table for [Stata](https://data.nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data/v1.1/classroom_tables_stata.zip) and [SPSS](https://data.nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data/v1.1/classroom_tables_spss.zip). Every figure in this post can be computed from the School Building Program lines, using `scope_category`, `implementation_modality`, `budget_per_classroom_php`, `scope_max_storeys`, `scope_of_work` and `deped_region`.

Every file, with its rows, columns and checksum, is listed on the [EDCOM II classroom data page](https://nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data). To cite the data: Llego, M. A. (2026). *EDCOM II classroom construction dashboard data, cleaned, version 1.1*. NASH Reviewer. https://nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data

To cite this post: Llego, M. A. (2026, October 28). *How much does a classroom cost in the Philippines?* NASH Reviewer Blog. https://nash.com.ph/blog/cost-to-build-classroom-philippines

## References

- Kruskal, W. H., & Wallis, W. A. (1952). Use of ranks in one-criterion variance analysis. *Journal of the American Statistical Association, 47*(260), 583–621.
- Llego, M. A. (2026). *EDCOM II classroom construction dashboard data, cleaned, version 1.1* [Data set]. NASH Reviewer. https://nash.com.ph/edcom-classroom-data
- MacKinnon, J. G., & White, H. (1985). Some heteroskedasticity-consistent covariance matrix estimators with improved finite sample properties. *Journal of Econometrics, 29*(3), 305–325.
- Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). (2026). *National Education Plan 2026–2035* (Year Three report).
- Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). (2026, February 9). *EDCOM II: 51,000 classrooms likely to be condemned by 2028* [News release].
- Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). (2026, October 20). *Put classrooms where they're needed most, EDCOM 2 tells DepEd* [News release]. https://edcom2.gov.ph/put-classrooms-where-theyre-needed-most-edcom-2-tells-deped/
- Spearman, C. (1904). The proof and measurement of association between two things. *American Journal of Psychology, 15*(1), 72–101.
- Tomczak, M., & Tomczak, E. (2014). The need to report effect size estimates revisited. *Trends in Sport Sciences, 21*(1), 19–25.

## More in this series

- [How the EDCOM Classroom Data Was Cleaned](https://nash.com.ph/blog/edcom-classroom-data-cleaned)
- [Philippine Classroom Shortage 2023: Where the Gap Is](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-philippines-2023)
- [DepEd School Building Program 2026 in Numbers](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-school-building-program-2026)
- [Do 2026 Classrooms Go Where the Shortage Is?](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-allocation-vs-shortage-2026)
- [Classroom Allocation by LGU Income Class, 2026](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-allocation-lgu-income-class)
- [Class Shifts and Crowded Classrooms in DepEd Schools](https://nash.com.ph/blog/class-shifting-crowded-classrooms)
- [Last Mile Schools: Classroom Need and 2026 Allocation](https://nash.com.ph/blog/last-mile-schools-classroom-shortage)
- Regional reports: [NCR](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-ncr), [CAR](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-car), [Region I](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-1-ilocos), [Region II](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-2-cagayan-valley), [Region III](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-3-central-luzon), [Region IV-A](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-4a-calabarzon), [MIMAROPA](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-mimaropa), [Region V](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-5-bicol), [Region VI](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-6-western-visayas), [NIR](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-negros-island-region), [Region VII](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-7-central-visayas), [Region VIII](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-8-eastern-visayas), [Region IX](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-9-zamboanga-peninsula), [Region X](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-10-northern-mindanao), [Region XI](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-11-davao), [Region XII](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-12-soccsksargen), [Caraga](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-region-13-caraga), [BARMM](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-barmm)
- Rankings and deep dives: [Congressional districts](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-by-congressional-district), [Top 20 cities and municipalities](https://nash.com.ph/blog/cities-municipalities-largest-classroom-shortage), [Rizal](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-rizal), [Quezon City](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-quezon-city), [City of Manila](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-manila), [Tawi-Tawi](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-tawi-tawi), [Cavite](https://nash.com.ph/blog/classroom-shortage-cavite), [Cost of a classroom](https://nash.com.ph/blog/cost-to-build-classroom-philippines)
- Explainers: [PSIP III](https://nash.com.ph/blog/psip-iii-classrooms-explained), [Senior high shortage](https://nash.com.ph/blog/senior-high-school-classroom-shortage), [Junior high shortage](https://nash.com.ph/blog/junior-high-school-classroom-shortage), [Excess classrooms](https://nash.com.ph/blog/schools-with-more-classrooms-than-needed), [Learning Continuity Spaces](https://nash.com.ph/blog/learning-continuity-spaces-sbp-2026), [How learners reach school](https://nash.com.ph/blog/how-learners-reach-public-high-schools)
- For teachers and school heads: [Action research and thesis topics](https://nash.com.ph/blog/action-research-topics-classroom-shortage)
- Related: [DepEd Classroom and School Building Data, SY 2023-2024](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-classroom-school-building-data-sy-2023-2024), [EDCOM II Final Report: Guide for Aspiring School Heads](https://nash.com.ph/blog/edcom-ii-final-report), [National Education Plan 2026-2035: Guide for School Heads](https://nash.com.ph/blog/national-education-plan-2026-2035), [DepEd School Improvement Plan (SIP): Steps, AIP and SRC](https://nash.com.ph/blog/deped-school-improvement-plan), [PPSSH Domain 2: Managing School Operations With DepEd Data](https://nash.com.ph/blog/ppssh-domain-2-managing-school-operations)

*Analysis and charts by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Data: EDCOM II classroom construction dashboard and Department of Education data. NASH Reviewer is not affiliated with EDCOM II or DepEd. Charts may be reused only with written permission from support@nash.com.ph.*

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© 2026 Mark Anthony Llego, NASH Reviewer. All rights reserved. You may quote up to 100 words from this article with the author's name, its title and a link. In research, cite it as: Llego, M. A. (2026, October 28). *How Much Does a Classroom Cost in the Philippines?*. NASH Reviewer. https://nash.com.ph/blog/cost-to-build-classroom-philippines. Any other reuse of the article, its charts or its data needs written permission: email support@nash.com.ph. Terms of Service: https://nash.com.ph/terms#website-content-and-data