The Department of Education (DepEd) surpassed its target enrollment rate for School Year (SY) 2022-2023 as it recorded 28,797,660 enrolled learners on Tuesday, Aug. 23.
The enrollment data was derived from DepEd’s quick count of the Learner Information System (LIS) and its early registration tally. DepEd’s target enrollment rate was 28.6 million.
Out of all the regions in the Philippines, Region IV (CALABARZON) still recorded the highest number of enrollment turnout with 3,541,098 registrants. It was followed by Metro Manila with a tally of 2,498,988.
Cordillera Administrative Region, on the other hand, recorded the lowest enrollment rate at 407,424.
SY 2022-2023 officially began on Monday, Aug. 22. After years of implementing blended learning due to the pandemic, the Philippines once again opened its school doors to Filipino learners.
“Isang malaking tagumpay para sa kabataang Pilipino ang muling pagsisimula ng in-person learning ngayong araw na ito. Isang habkang na buong tapang na ginawa ng Department of Education sa kabila ng mga hamon at takot na dala ng COVID-19 pandemic (The reimplementation of in-person learning today, that was boldly conducted by DepEd despite the challenges and fear brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, is a great victory for the Filipino youth),” Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said in her welcoming speech during the school opening program held at Dinalupihan Elementary School.
“Our shared dedication, our shared strength as a nation, and our shared aspirations for children and our country has brought us all here today, and today we are making things possible for our children and for our country,” Duterte furthered.
Meanwhile, DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa claimed that “the start of the school year did not have any major issues” based on the reports of the regional directors.