The Department of Education (DepEd) expressed optimism with the current enrollment turnout which was already at 5.6 million on Wednesday, July 27.
In a press conference, DepEd Spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa stated that on the first day of enrollment on July 25 for SY 2022-2023 they have already recorded 3.3 million enrollees. He said that this is a "far cry" from last year's figures which was only a little bit over 222,000.
Under DepEd Memo No. 035, the enrollment period will end on Aug. 22, 2022. Unlike the previous academic year, the department, for sy 2022-2023, introduced three enrollment methods namely in-person enrollment, remote enrollment, and dropbox enrollment.
"Sana po tuloy-tuloy ito at makamit natin yung assumption natin of 28.6 million learners for this upcoming school year (We hope this continues and we can achieve our assumption of 28.6 million learners for the upcoming school year)," Poa said.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the upcoming classes for SY 2022-2023 which will begin on Aug. 22, Poa urged private sector organizations to take part in the "Brigada Eskwela" which will be launched on August 1.
He said that for DepEd's part, they are looking for items in their budget that they can realign to use the funds for repairs that will be needed by schools which were affected by Typhoon Odette, Agaton, and even Wednesday's earthquake incident. For major constructions, Poa stated that DepEd will coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
On the other hand, on the topic of vaccines, Poa said that Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte has instructed Regional Offices (ROs) to coordinate with Department of Health (DOH) counterparts in each region to provide counselling for the unvaccinated.
Aside from counselling, part of DepEd's plans is to also conduct mobile vaccinations. Poa emphasized that the counselling and vaccinations remain voluntary.