Bicol enrollment dips from 1.8 M to 1.5M

The Department of Education (DepEd) in Bicol has recorded 1.52 million enrollees for School (SY) Year 2020-2021, lower by 300,000 compared to 1.8 million enrollees last year.

Gilbert Sadsad, DepEd Bicol regional director, said that based from DepEd’s data, some 1.52 million students have enrolled in public schools across the region as of July 15, the last day of enrollment for SY 2020-2021.

Based from the DepEd enrollment figures, some 98, 201 learners have enlisted in kindergarten; 700,512 in elementary; 193,132 in senior high school; 485,645 in junior high school; 5, 516 learners with disabilities; 35,543 in Alternative Learning System; and 68,617 are enrolled in the private schools. .

In terms of enrollment turnout percentage in the country, Bicol region is No. 3 among the 17 regions, as it already reached 82.36 percent compared to last year’s enrollment turnout.

Regions VIII with 85.68 percent is No. 1 while Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) with 83.63 percent is No. 2 in terms of enrollment turnouts.

Sadsad said that the figure represented a significant number of students who are interested to continue their studies despite the abnormal situation caused by the pandemic.

He also stressed that the high enrollment figure showed the strong support and confidence of Bicolanos in the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan proposed by DepEd Bicol.

"With this figure, we are still optimistic that we can still reach 100 percent or even more as there are still learners to gather. We don’t stop finding them. Amid the not so normal situation, we are all in this endeavor to get them back in our education continuum this SY, having in mind their preferred modality of learning on top of their safety and health security,“ Sadsad said.

He said the result of the enrollment on July 15 may have not covered all the learners who went schooling last year, but Sadsad expressed hope that the number will continue to increase in the coming days as there are still private schools, state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges offering basic education program, which have yet to open their enrollment for this school year.

Sadsad said that while the DepEd has set its enrollment deadline last July 15, it will continue to accommodate late enrollees and monitor the development of enrollment in private schools.

The DepEd has set the opening of classes in public school across the country on Aug. 24, 2020.