Despite travel restrictions and connectivity issues, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported that approximately 4.5 million students registered early for the 2020-2021 school year, achieving a 99 percent turnout rate in comparison to last year.
The DepEd announced in its final Monitoring Report on Tuesday that 4,557,435 learners in Kindergarten, Grade 1, 7, and 11 took advantage of the early registration period that began in April and ended on May 31, 2021.
“We thank our field offices, parents, and learners for their cooperation and support despite personally experiencing challenges brought about by the pandemic. As our learners and parents showed their value for learning in this exercise, we are committed to continue exhausting all means to provide accessible and quality education for all,” Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.
During the entire period, the Department registered 991,689 kindergarten, 1,554,556 Grade 1 (elementary school), 1,143,193 Grade 7 (junior high school), and 867,997 Grade 11 (senior high school) early registrants.
Pre-registered students in grades 2-6, 8-10, and 12 are not required to participate in early registration.
According to the monitoring report, CALABARZON had the highest number of registered learners in the region at 480,709, followed by Central Visayas (405,001) and Western Visayas (387,152).
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“The collaboration between schools and parents is evident in this year’s exercise as we achieved our target anew. With this success, we can strategically prepare our resources to further improve education delivery for School Year 2021-2022,” stated Undersecretary for Planning, Human Resources, and Organizational Development Jesus Mateo.
As stated in DepEd Order No. 3, section 2018, or the Basic Education Enrollment Policy, the Early Registration was implemented to assist the Department in anticipating the number of enrollees for the upcoming school year.
To ensure the safety of learners, parents, and staff, the Department conducted early registration this year through communication platforms such as Facebook chats, text messaging, and drop-boxes in schools or barangays.
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