The Palace announced on Thursday afternoon that the enrollment for basic education in public schools for academic year 2020 to 2021 is extended until July 15.
“Pero pwede ba ho huwag na nating hintayin ang July 15. Ngayon pa lang, kapag pwede na po, i-enroll na po natin ang ating mga anak (But let us not wait for July 15. If we can do it now, let us enroll our children),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque advised.
As of 8:00 a.m. of June 30, the total enrollees in public schools since June 1 reached 15,222,315. The number is only 67 percent of last year’s enrollment stats. The Department of Education (DepEd) is seeing lags in the figures as the collection of forms is not done daily since physical reporting of teachers remains limited.
In the case of private schools, only 672,403 have so far enrolled for the upcoming school year as of 8:00 a.m. of June 30. A private school administrators group expressed concern if President Duterte would sign a bill to delay opening of classes. They sought exemption due to their readiness for distance learning. Some private schools will start holding classes this July, but FAPSA is considering accepting late enrollees until September. – Report from Mica Joson