OVER three million students enrolled last Monday when the enrollment period for school year 2022-2023 got going, the Department of Education said yesterday.
DepEd spokesperson Michael Tan Poa attributed the high turnout to the information campaign undertaken by the department encouraging parents to enroll their children early on.
“The first day of enrollment was a success, the turnout was high,” Poa told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
Poa said the total figure for Monday was 3.3 million, much higher than the 222,000 that enrolled in the same period last year.
The enrollment will end on August 22 when classes start with blended learning and will transition to full face-to-face classes in November.
The DepEd expects 28.6 million students to enroll from kindergarten to senior high school this coming school year.
Last year, DepEd data showed that 28,033,530 enrolled nationwide from kindergarten to senior high school, up from the previous year’s 26,826,387.
Aside from in-person enrollment, the DepEd also allows “remote enrollment” through phone calls, text messaging, online messaging through Facebook messenger, Viber and email messaging and enrollment through drop boxes.
Meanwhile, Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte said Malacanang has directed the department to complete its review of the controversial K to 12 program within a year.
Speaking during the post-SONA briefing that was also attended by other Cabinet secretaries, Duterte said the department is set to start the review soon.
“Former DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones already conducted and initiated a review of kindergarten to Grade 10 and they are about to finish and wrap up the review. And my administration will start the review on Grades 11 to 12,” Duterte said.
“We were given by President Marcos one year or from 2022 to 2023 to give a final answer about our K to 12 program,” she added.
Grades 11 to 12 under the K to 12 program refers to the two years of senior high school.
Earlier, Duterte said reviewing the implementation of the K to 12 program was one of three marching orders she received from the President when he appointed her to the DepEd post.
The K to 12 program started during the term of former president Benigno Aquino III.
Duterte said she has sought the advice of Labor Secretary Buenvenido Laguesma and the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority on the K to 12 review. TESDA is a sub-agency of the Labor department.
She said she and Laguesma agreed to “strengthen and intensify” their coordination in relation to enhancing the Philippine Skills framework.
Aside from technical-vocational education, the other track or strand in senior high school are humanities and social science (HUMMS), accountancy, business and management (ABM), science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and general academics.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Tanggol Wika and Teachers Dignity Coalition have expressed their support to a review of the K to 12 program to make it more responsive and suited to the needs of Filipino students.
Poa said the DepEd is working with the Department of Public Works and Highways to ensure that school facilities are ready for the opening of classes on Aug. 22 after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Right now, we are really coordinating. We will be coordinating closely with DPWH to ensure that our school infrastructure is ready,” Poa said.
