THE Department of Education yesterday said more than 16 million students nationwide have enrolled with a week to go before classes open on August 29, with Calabarzon registering the highest number at 2.8 million.
Data from the department’s Learner Information System (LIS) showed that 16,816,221 students have enrolled in both public and private schools as of August 21.
Calabarzon had 2,858,606 enrollees, followed by the National Capital Region (2,220,470) and Central Luzon (1,868,161).
The least number of enrollees was in the Cordillera Administrative Region at 196,884, while CARAGA and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had 328,858 and 472,629 enrollees, respectively.
The enrollment period will run until August 26.
Education Undersecretary and Spokesperson Michael Poa said they expect an increase in the number of enrollees for the coming school year from 28.4 million to 28.8 million.
Poa said Alternative Learning System (ALS) enrollees can register in the nearest public schools where they are residing, barangay halls, or community learning centers.
There are 44,931 public schools and 12,162 private schools nationwide.
While classes in public schools start on August 29, private schools were allowed to start classes last June but not later than the last day of August.
The department also allowed private schools to hold blended learning or online mode two times a week.
Last May, the DepEd opened registration for incoming kindergarten and Grades 1, 7 and 11 students in public schools for the coming school year.
