The age qualification for kindergarten pupils --- both public and private schools --- should be five years old by June 1 of every calendar year, according to DepEd.
DepEd conducts the Early Registration for the incoming school year from May 10 to June 9.
The Early Registration covers incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11 learners in public schools.
DepEd reminds schools to ‘strictly enforce’ kindergarten cut-off age during Early Registration
May 17, 2023 07:45 AM
At a glance
The Department of Education (DepEd) reminded all schools offering basic education of the strict implementation of the cut-off age for incoming Kindergarten pupils this coming School Year (SY) 2023-2024.
(Photo from DepEd)
“Authorities of public and private schools are instructed to strictly enforce and implement the kindergarten cut-off age,” DepEd said in a memorandum issued last week.
The policy on strict implementation of kindergarten cut-off age, DepEd said, is stipulated in its Department Order (DO) 020, s. 2018 or the Amendment to DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016.
As per DepEd, the age qualification for kindergarten pupils --- both public and private schools --- should be five years old by June 1 of every calendar year.
DepEd said that the school “may consider learners entering kindergarten who will turn five (5) years old by the end of August.”
However, the school should administer Philippine Early Childhood Development (ECD) checklist before the start of the opening of the school year to ensure that the learner is “capable of meeting expectations of the grade level.”
For schools commencing their school year beyond June, DepEd said that kindergarten learners should be five years old by June 1 and the extension period ending on Aug. 31 may be adjusted for schools.
Meanwhile, for schools commencing their school year in July, Kindergarten learners should be five years old by July 1 and the extension period shall be until Sept. 30.
For schools commencing their school year in August, Kindergarten Learners should be five years old by Aug. 1 and the extension period shall be until Oct. 31.
DepEd said that private schools may “impose additional requirements” on incoming Kindergarten learners as long as these are “consistent with existing laws, rules, and regulations.”
The department issued the reminder as it conducts the Early Registration for the incoming school year from May 10 to June 9.
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The Early Registration covers incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11 learners in public schools.
DepEd said that all incoming learners enrolling in the said grade levels in all public elementary and secondary schools shall “pre-register or participate in the early registration” to allow the Department to make the needed preparations and adjustments of plans for the incoming SY.
Meanwhile, DepEd reiterated that incoming Grades 2 to 6, 8 to 10, and 12 learners from public schools are already considered “pre-registered and do not need to participate in the early registration.”
For private schools, DepEd said that they are encouraged to conduct their respective early registration activities in the same time frame.
The conduct of Early Registration for the incoming school year marks the return of face-to-face transactions.
While in-person early registration is preferred, DepEd said that schools may continue to implement other means of collecting registration forms.
DepEd instructed schools to use the print or electronic copies of the Basic Education Enrollment Form (Revised as of March 27, 2023) to ensure necessary information in registering incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11 learners, and other data are appropriately captured.
The schools, DepEd added, may also encode in the Early Registration facility, the prospective enrollees for other grade levels (Grades 2-6, 8-10, and 12) based on the previous school enrollment to “get the overall picture of the expected enrollees for the next enrollment.”