Schools in South Cotabato

By Mark Anthony Llego · Published 1 November 2026 · Updated 3 November 2026

SY 2024-25 data from DepEd as of 25 October 2025

Summary

South Cotabato has the most learners of the four provinces in Region XII, and the most learners per teacher in public schools. In SY 2024-25 its 727 schools held 445,359 learners, with another 10,660 in ALS, and its public teachers number 13,850. Enrollment in schools fell 2.3% from SY 2023-24, not counting ALS: public schools fell 2.9%, private schools grew 2.1%, and SUC and LUC schools fell 19.1%.

Of the learners in schools, 87% are in public schools, against 85% nationally, and 13% in private schools, against 14% nationally. Of the 542 reporting public schools, 105 (19%) have no internet, against 22% in Region XII, and seven (1%) have no electricity. Leaving out 18 schools whose figures are under review, the most crowded public classrooms are at Tupi Central Elementary School, with one classroom for every 107 learners.

Next on the page are its 12 cities and municipalities, then charts and tables of figures by sector and level.

Schools: 727; Up 4 from SY 2023-24; 543 public, 183 private, 1 SUC or LUC
Community learning centers: 477; Down 20 from SY 2023-24
Learners: 456,019; Down 12,030 from SY 2023-24
Teachers: 13,850; Down 103 from SY 2023-24
Classrooms: 10,061; Down 289 from SY 2023-24

Key findings

For SY 2024-25 and all schools, whatever is chosen above.

South Cotabato has the most learners of the 4 provinces in Region XII, and the most learners per teacher in public schools.
Enrollment in schools fell 2.3% from SY 2023-24 (ALS not counted); public schools fell 2.9%, private schools grew 2.1% and SUC and LUC schools fell 19.1%.
Of the learners in schools, 87% are in public schools (85% nationally), 13% in private schools (14% nationally) and 1% in SUC and LUC schools (1% nationally).
Leaving out 3 schools whose figures are under review, the largest schools are General Santos City National High School (12,126 learners), Fatima National High School (6,896 learners) and Libertad National High School (5,229 learners).
Leaving out 1 school whose enrollment figures are under review, enrollment grew fastest at Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges-Marbel, Inc. (+46%) and fell most at Green Valley College Foundation, Inc. - T'boli (−50%), among schools with 100 or more learners in both years.
Leaving out 18 schools whose figures are under review, the most crowded public classrooms are at Tupi Central Elementary School, with 107 learners per classroom.
Of the 542 reporting public schools, 7 (1%) have no electricity, against 2% in Region XII; 1 (1%) has no water, against 1% in Region XII; 105 (19%) have no internet, against 22% in Region XII.
The 539 public schools here with FY 2025 MOOE received ₱738.8 million. Across the 534 with FY 2024 MOOE and SY 2024-25 learners, FY 2024 MOOE came to ₱1,462 for each learner.

Learners

SY 2024-25: 456,019 learners, 445,359 in schools and 10,660 in community learning centers.

Learners, SY 2024-25
Learners	Number
All learners	456,019
In schools	445,359
In community learning centers (ALS)	10,660
Male	231,951
Female	223,471
Not broken down by sex	597

Learners by level and sector, SY 2024-25: at least these numbers

Learners by level and sector, SY 2024-25: at least these numbers; 597 not broken down by level
Level	Public schools	Private schools	SUCs and LUCs	Community learning centers (ALS)	Total
Elementary	226,345	17,330	0	0	243,675
Junior High School	113,490	16,176	516	0	130,182
Senior High School	48,635	21,957	316	0	70,908
ALS Basic Literacy Program	0	0	0	749	749
ALS A&E elementary	0	0	0	2,278	2,278
ALS A&E secondary	0	0	0	7,630	7,630

Learners by grade and sex, SY 2024-25: at least these numbers

Learners by grade and sex, SY 2024-25: at least these numbers; 597 not broken down by grade
Grade	Male	Female	Total
Kindergarten	15,444	14,362	29,806
Grade 1	17,240	16,025	33,265
Grade 2	18,501	17,217	35,718
Grade 3	18,581	17,137	35,718
Grade 4	18,236	17,042	35,278
Grade 5	18,002	16,736	34,738
Grade 6	19,631	18,641	38,272
Grade 7	18,534	17,746	36,280
Grade 8	14,778	14,534	29,312
Grade 9	15,527	15,719	31,246
Grade 10	16,432	16,769	33,201
Grade 11	18,173	19,084	37,257
Grade 12	16,394	17,257	33,651
Special needs, non-graded (elementary)	597	283	880
Special needs, non-graded (junior high)	91	52	143
ALS Basic Literacy Program	345	404	749
ALS A&E elementary	1,291	987	2,278
ALS A&E secondary	4,154	3,476	7,630
Broken down by grade	231,951	223,471	455,422

Senior High School learners by track, SY 2024-25

Senior High School learners by track, SY 2024-25
Track	Learners
Academic	49,133
Technical-Vocational-Livelihood	21,706
Arts and Design	283
Sports	180
All tracks	71,302

ALIVE (Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education) learners by level and sex, SY 2024-25
Level	Male	Female	Total
Kindergarten	601	508	1,109
Elementary	4,504	4,260	8,764
Junior High School	744	792	1,536
All	5,849	5,560	11,409

Indigenous peoples (IP) learners by level and sex, SY 2024-25
Level	Male	Female	Total
Kindergarten	2,919	2,715	5,634
Elementary	19,346	18,544	37,890
Junior High School	8,529	9,334	17,863
Senior High School	3,320	4,284	7,604
All	34,114	34,877	68,991

Learners in alternative delivery modes (ADM) by program and sex, SY 2024-25
Program	Male	Female	Total
Distance Education	2	0	2
Open High School Program	322	339	661
Other School-Initiated Intervention	19	8	27
All	343	347	690

Schools and community learning centers

SY 2024-25: 727 schools and 477 community learning centers.

Schools and community learning centers by sector, SY 2024-25

Schools and community learning centers by sector, SY 2024-25
Sector	Number
Public schools	543
Private schools	183
SUCs and LUCs	1
Community learning centers (ALS)	477
All	1,204

Schools by curricular offering, SY 2024-25

Schools by curricular offering, SY 2024-25
Offering	Number
Elementary only	451
Elementary and junior high (K to 10)	64
Kindergarten to Grade 12	62
Junior high only	9
Junior and senior high	113
Senior high only	28
Community learning centers (ALS)	477

Schools by subclassification, SY 2024-25
Subclassification	Number
DepEd managed	542
Community learning centers (ALS)	477
Non-sectarian	128
Sectarian	55
DOST managed	1
State universities and colleges	1

School personnel

SY 2024-25: 13,850 teachers and 1,280 non-teaching personnel in public schools.

Public school personnel by type, SY 2024-25
Type	Number
Teachers	13,850
Non-teaching personnel	1,280
All personnel	15,130

Public school teachers by level, SY 2024-25

Public school teachers by level, SY 2024-25
Level	Teachers
Elementary	7,614
Junior High School	4,694
Senior High School	1,542
All teachers	13,850

Learners per teacher by level, public schools, SY 2024-25

Learners per teacher by level, public schools, SY 2024-25
Level	Learners per teacher
Elementary	29.7
Junior High School	24.2
Senior High School	31.5

School resources

SY 2024-25: 10,061 classrooms and 15,263 toilets in public schools.

Classrooms: 10,061
Seats (approximate): 351,793
Toilets: 15,263
Functional computers: 31,066
Faucets: 26,739; 23,579 with water

Classrooms, seats, toilets and computers by level, public schools, SY 2024-25: shares of each by level

Classrooms, seats, toilets and computers by level, public schools, SY 2024-25, with learners per resource
Measure	Elementary	Junior High School	Senior High School
Classrooms	5,692	3,051	1,318
Learners per classroom	39.8	37.2	36.9
Seats (approximate)	200,182	106,419	45,192
Learners per seat	1.1	1.1	1.1
Toilets	9,530	3,998	1,735
Learners per toilet	23.8	28.4	28.0
Functional computers	15,079	10,234	5,753
Learners per computer	15.0	11.1	8.5

Public schools with a water supply, by level, SY 2024-25

Public schools with a water supply, by level, SY 2024-25: number of schools
Level	With water supply	Without
Elementary	437	3
Junior High School	167	5
Senior High School	111	8

Public schools by electricity supply and level, SY 2024-25

Public schools by electricity supply and level, SY 2024-25: number of schools
Level	Grid supply	Off-grid supply	Grid and off-grid supply	No electricity supply
Elementary	399	26	8	7
Junior High School	161	7	3	1
Senior High School	114	0	5	0

Public schools with internet access, by level, SY 2024-25

Public schools with internet access, by level, SY 2024-25: number of schools
Level	With internet access	Without
Elementary	338	102
Junior High School	139	33
Senior High School	97	22

Toilets in public schools by type, SY 2024-25

Toilets in public schools by type, SY 2024-25
Type	Toilets
Female	3,843
Male	3,574
Shared	7,284
For persons with disabilities	562
All toilets	15,263

Faucets in public schools, with and without water, SY 2024-25

Faucets in public schools, with and without water, SY 2024-25
Faucets	Number
With water	23,579
Without water	3,160
All faucets	26,739

Public schools with each facility, SY 2024-25
Facility	Schools
Entrance Gate	503
School Garden	493
Playground	418
Temporary Perimeter Fence	359
Offices	351
Exit Gate	349
Permanent Perimeter Fence	297
Covered Court	274
Computer Room	225
Gymnasium	157
Library/Learning Resource Center	154
Clinic	151
Home Economic Room	124
Data File Room/Records Room	107
Supply Room	97
Science Laboratory	95
Conference Room	93
Faculty Room	88
Solar Panel	84
Paved Pathway	66
Roofing	45
Industrial Arts Room	40
Canteen	39
Student Co-Curricular Center	21
Flood Marker	18
Youth Development Center	15
Bike Rack	3
Speech Laboratory	3

Cities and municipalities

12 cities and municipalities, each with its SY 2024-25 schools and learners in every sector.

Cities and municipalities in South Cotabato, SY 2024-25
Name	Schools	Learners	Teachers (public)	Learners per teacher (public)
Banga	50	20,719	789	23.4
City of Koronadal (Capital)	95	54,042	1,498	28.7
General Santos City (Dadiangas)	165	182,100	5,144	30.0
Lake Sebu	65	23,701	766	27.2
Norala	38	12,053	523	21.2
Polomolok	71	47,635	1,359	28.5
Santo Niño	22	10,945	387	24.8
Surallah	53	30,927	887	27.5
T'Boli	70	27,958	950	27.9
Tampakan	29	11,835	408	27.9
Tantangan	29	11,139	442	23.3
Tupi	40	22,965	697	29.0

About this data

597 learners in SY 2024-25 are counted in the totals but not broken down by grade, level or sex, so those charts show at least these numbers.
Teachers, classrooms and facilities are for public schools only: DepEd's public report has them for no other schools.

Each school year's figures for South Cotabato count the schools DepEd placed there that year. Figures come from DepEd's school data for SY 2023-24 and SY 2024-25 as of 25 October 2025. How the data was checked

Report a correction to the figures for South Cotabato