The Department of Education has announced on Tuesday that schools nationwide will still accept enrollees until September 30, 2021.
“Batay po sa napag-usapan ng ExeCom noong nakaraang pagmi-meeting, magpapalabas po tayo ng order kung saan ang Department of Education ay tatanggap ng enrollees hanggang [Based on our discussion with the Executive Committee, we will issue an order that the Department of Education will still accept enrollees on] September 30, 2021,” said Undersecretary for Field Operations, Palarong Pambansa Secretariat and DepEd Employees’ Association Coordinating Office and Oplan Balik Eskwela Co-Chair Atty. Revsee Escobedo.
According to DepEd Order 30, s. 2021, all public and private schools, state universities and colleges have been ordered to admit learners until the end of the month.
The DepEd already surpassed the enrollment numbers recorded by DepEd last school year, which is a total of 26,227,022 learners. As of September 18, the DepEd registered 28,219,623 school learners.
Furthermore, DepEd also noted that Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley Region, Mimaropa, Central and Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, BARMM, and CAR have already exceeded their enrollment rate last year, indicating that some learners who opted not to enroll in the previous year are returning this school year.
Meanwhile, Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones pointed out that she still expects more learners to participate in the upcoming school year despite the challenges of the pandemic.
Briones also shared graduation figures in the previous year, highlighting the department’s commitment to continue education despite the threat of lockdowns, closures and the pandemic itself.
“Our tentative graduation figures indicated that 98.13 percent or 2,055,499 of 2,115,040 Grade 6 learners made it. Our Grade 10 learners also did very well. 96.9 percent or 1,881,817 out of 1,940,578 completed their studies. Our Grade 11 learners made it at 97.2 percent or 1,489,164 of 1,531,718,” she said.
F-to-F pilot shift lauded
The United Nations, United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), and World Health Organization (WHO) lauded President Duterte’s approval on the planned pilot implementation of face-to-face (F-to-F) classes in at least 100 public and 20 private schools in low-risk areas of the country.
“Every child has the right to education and schools are central to children’s development, safety and well-being. As some schools are set to reopen on a small scale, public health, and safety measures, such as masks wearing, hand washing, physical distancing and good ventilation, remain equally important to keep every child and every teacher safe,” the joint statement of UN, Unicef, and WHO read.
They also commended the DepEd and Department of Health (DOH) for the collaborative preparations for the pilot run.
“Together with our partners, we will continue to work closely with the government in support of safe in-person learning beginning with the pilot schools,” they said.
The DepEd said that they bare the names of the schools “once a memorandum is finalized, signed and released after the meeting with DOH within the week.”