The Department of Education (DepEd) enjoined parents or guardians of incoming learners in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7 and 11 to participate in the early registration activity which has been extended until the end of this month.

DepEd officials, during a televised public briefing on May 12, gave updates on the ongoing early registration activity in both public and private schools in preparation for the opening of classes for School Year (SY) 2021-2022.

“From what what we know, the response from parents and children is very positive. Because generally, all parents and young people really want to continue their education and the early enrollment has become a practice to ensure that there will be no crowding, we use technology, we have a command center right in the central office where we monitor it all,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Meanwhile, DepEd Undersecretary Jesus Mateo explained that the early registration - which was originally scheduled on March 26 to April 30 - has been extended until May 31 to allow parents and guardians to register the children in the said grade levels for the upcoming school year.

“Early registration is held every end of January so that we can prepare our schools but because of the pandemic, we held our early enrollment this school year 2021-2022 in March to April and we have extended it until May,” Mateo said.

Citing latest data from the early registration monitoring, Mateo said that there are 4.3 million Kinder, Grades 1, 7 and 11 who registered early. “That’s almost 95 percent during our previous school year, during the pandemic. This is also why we are extending the early registration so that other parents who are having doubts can still catch up,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mateo clarified that there will still be an enrollment period “sometime August or July” especially for learners in other grade levels that are not covered by the early registration. “This enrollment is for the others enrolled in the previous year to make sure that their education continues,” he said.

Given this, Mateo also called on parents and guardians to enroll their children during that period so that their learning will still continue.

To ensure the safety of everyone, DepEd is implementing a remote enrollment system through online or text. Limited face-to-face or physical registration are allowed in some schools and barangays only if these are located in low-risk areas and that public health and safety protocols will be strictly followed.

Briones also enjoined the public to participate in the early registration activities of DepEd. “I really can't say it's a ‘tradition’ but early enrollment has been really a practice because of the large number of children enrolling -so, it is better to do it earlier to make sure they have a place in our educational system,” she ended.