Congestion of students and inadequate basic education resources, among other issues, have been persistent challenges faced by most public schools in the country for years.

To ensure that public schools are prepared to accommodate enrollees, the Department of Education (DepEd) holds an early registration period for select grade levels before every school opening.

As stated in the Basic Education Enrollment Policy issued through DepEd Order. No. 3 series of 2018, Early Registration in public schools shall be conducted “from the last Saturday of January to the last Friday of February of each year.”
 
For the incoming School Year (SY) 2024-2025, DepEd said the Early Registration for incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11 learners in public schools started from Jan. 27 to Feb. 23.

READ: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/28/early-registration-for-sy-2024-2025-starts-in-public-schools-dep-ed

What is Early Registration

Early Registration refers to the “pre-registration of incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7 and 11 learners which takes place prior to the opening of classes.”

Early Registration is only for the mentioned grade levels. As per DepEd’s policy, incoming Grades 2 to 6, Grades 8 to 10, and Grade 12 are already considered “pre-registered.”

However, DepEd noted that pre-registered learners, who underwent the early registration process, are “not considered officially enrolled.”

Who is it for?

The primary goal of conducting Early Registration, as per DepEd, is to ensure that all new entrants for Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11 learners are registered for the incoming school year.

Aside from this, Early Registration also aims to locate, identify, and register out-of-school children (OSC) and youth (OSY) in the community who may be characterized as:

- living with disability/ies 
- living in an off-grid community
- living in a barangay without a school
- living in a geographically isolated area 
- displaced due to natural disaster
- living in an armed conflict area 
- living in an area with a high level of criminality/drug abuse 
- having a chronic illness; having nutritional problem/s
- victim of child abuse, economic exploitation; stateless/undocumented 
- in conflict with the law; living on the streets; and 
- no longer in school but interested in going back to school

Preparations and conduct of Early Registration

DepEd preferred the conduct of the early registration for this SY to be done through face-to-face transactions with the schools. 

“However, the schools may continue to implement other options or means of collecting early registration forms,” DepEd said.

To ensure the smooth conduct of the Early Registration, DepEd instructed offices at all governance levels to conduct an Information and Dissemination Advocacy campaign to "raise public awareness' on the initiative.

For instance, the DepEd Central Office was tasked to communicate the start of early registration and promote its conduct through all official channels.

Regional Offices (RO) and Schools Division Offices (SDO), through the Regional Directors (RD) and Schools Division Superintendents (SDS), are asked to lead and organize a team that will spearhead the advocacy campaign.

At the school level, DepEd said schools should undertake activities such as house-to-house campaigns, post materials such as tarpaulins, banners, and brochures, post on social media; and secure radio/television broadcast advertisement.

“Schools are encouraged to involve parents, local barangay officials, civic organizations, people’s organization, and other stakeholders,” DepEd said.

Elementary and secondary public school officials were asked by DepEd to designate Early Registration Desks or Registration Centers in the school premises and individuals who will handle registration.

Schools Division Offices were also asked to identify areas without schools but may have enrollees. “The SDS shall designate a focal person to work with the concerned barangay chairperson for early registration to be done in the barangay,” DepEd said.

Likewise, DepEd noted that the registration of street children, who were identified during Child Finding Activities, shall be conducted by the SDOs in coordination with the local social worker of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Moreover, learners with no existing profile in the Learner Information System (LIS) shall fill out the Basic Education Enrollment Form and submit their Birth Certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or the local civil registrar or barangay certification based on DepEd’s policy.

Eligibility and documentary requirements

DepEd explained that while its policy “adheres to the basic tenet that all learners must be accepted in basic education,” all public and private schools as well as State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) offering basic education programs shall “adhere to existing rules that govern the minimum eligibility and documentary requirements for enrollment in order to establish the identity of learners.”

During the early registration, learners aged 6 to 12 --- who shall be enrolling in basic education for the first time --- shall be “enrolled grade levels” based on their eligibility.

For learners to be registered in Grade 1, they should have completed the Kindergarten Catch-up Education Program. A Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) result, on the other hand, is needed so learners can be registered in the appropriate grade level.

Learners aged 13 and above who shall be enrolling in basic education for the first time, DepEd said, shall be advised to undergo the Alternative Learning System (ALS) program.

What to do if requirements are not available?

DepEd noted that in the absence of a PSA Birth Certificate, the parent or guardian must submit a Birth Certificate (late registration) from the local registrar or a barangay certification containing the basic information of the child.

Submission of the learner’s Birth Certificate from the PSA or the local civil registrar, or barangay certification for purposes of enrollment or registration, DepEd said, will be “done once during the duration of a child’s basic education.”

In special cases such as learners coming from Philippine schools or foreign schools abroad; learners from non-DepEd accredited schools, “Balik-Aral Learners” or those who went back to school and resumed study after years of dropping out or discontinuing study; and Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) elementary level test passers and displaced learners due to ongoing war/armed conflict and very recent disasters /calamities, DepEd may require additional requirements for submission.

As in the previous years, DepEd urged parents and guardians of concerned learners to participate in the Early Registration period to ensure the "needed preparations and adjustments of plans" for the incoming SY will be carried out accordingly.

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https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/18/dep-ed-still-finalizing-guidelines-on-start-of-classes-for-sy-2024-2025