ILOILO CITY — At least 67 private schools in Western Visayas region are closed for school year 2021-2022 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Data from the Department of Education (DepEd-6) revealed that 61 private schools for grade school and high school students closed temporarily while the remaining six are closed permanently.
“These private schools are no longer economically viable,” said DepEd-6 Information Officer Hernani Escular Jr.
As parents lost their jobs and faced financial constraints, these parents decided to transfer their children from private schools to public schools.
Escullar told Manila Bulletin that enrollment for private schools in Western Visayas dropped to more than 51,000 for this school year.
From the more than 193,000 students enrolled for the school year 2020-2021, only 141,270 students were enrolled in private schools as of September 18. But the number of students can go higher as DepEd has extended enrollment until September 30.
Iloilo province had the most number of private schools that closed with 23. It is followed by Capiz province with 12.
Private schools in Iloilo City, Bacolod City as well as the provinces of Antique and Guimaras also closed.
For the previous school year, 106 private schools in Western Visayas temporarily closed while 14 were closed permanently.