While it pushes for education continuity amidst the pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) did not set a specific target of enrollees for the incoming school year, a key official said.
“We did not set a specific target this year,” DepEd Undersecretary and Spokesperson Nepomuceno Malaluan told the Manila Bulletin. “But we emphasized to regional directors to encourage last year enrollees to continue,” he added.
DepEd started holding its regular enrollment for School Year (SY) this week.
Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation in the country, DepEd is implementing a remote enrollment system where parents or guardians can enroll the children without having to physically submit the enrollment forms needed by the school.
In areas where stricter community quarantine classifications are imposed -- such as Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and Modified ECQ (MECQ) -- remote enrollment should be implemented by the schools.
Remote enrollment is done through alternative means of communication that do not require physically reporting to school such as text, call, email, and online messaging.
Schools were also directed to put up drop boxes where parents or guardians without access to remote means may pick up or drop off the enrollment forms.
In low risk areas, limited physical submission of forms may be allowed as long as minimum health standards and protocols are observed in coordination with school and respective Local Government Units (LGUs).
On Aug. 17, DepEd recorded 4,777,942 enrollees.
The following day, the enrollment “Quick Count” showed that there were 5,000, 177 learners enrolled in public schools, private schools and State Universities and Colleges/Local Universities and Colleges (SUCs/LUCs) that offer basic education nationwide.
As of Aug. 19, the enrollment figure rose to 5,356, 643.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/19/deped-over-5-3-million-learners-enrolled-for-sy-2021-2022/
Malaluan said that the enrollment figure is based on the Learner Information System (LIS). It also includes the number of learners who participated in the Early Registration held in March to May this year in preparation for the opening of SY 2021-2022.
As it continues to collate enrollment data for the incoming SY, Malaluan noted that these figures will still change depending on the availability of reports coming from its field offices.
Given the nature of the enrollment process, Malaluan pointed out that there might be “lag in reporting” of learners who were already enrolled.
Based on the latest data, there were only 63, 102 enrollees in private schools as of Aug. 19. Enrollment in private schools decreased in SY 2020-2021 mainly due to challenges brought by the pandemic.
Similar to last year, Malaluan explained that there were delays in the reporting of enrollment figures - especially coming private schools.
“In effect, the deadline for the profile inputting of LIS is the same with the general school calendar which gave private schools more time,” he explained -- noting that it might be “early to conclude” a possible decrease in the enrollment of this incoming SY.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/19/its-still-too-early-deped-cautions-against-conclusions-on-enrollment/
As of November 2020, DepEd noted a reduction in enrollment that was experienced mainly in private schools. For SY 2020-2021, DepEd data showed that enrollment in the private education sector reached only 51.7% or 2,226,292 of the enrollment in SY 2019-2020.
In SY 2020-2021, DepEd set an 80 percent adjusted enrollment target and submitted it to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). The adjustment was made in anticipation of the challenges brought by COVID-19 among Filipino households.
While DepEd did “not set a specific target” this year, Malaluan said that the DepEd Central Office regional offices were asked to find ways to encourage enrollees last year to enroll again this year. “We are monitoring closely,” he added.