ALMOST BACK TO NORMAL | Students enroll in person at Lakandula High School in Tondo, Manila, although the Department of Education says that the procedure can also be done online. (Photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte reported that 3.3 million students had enrolled for the next school year on Monday, the first day of registration, a huge increase from the 220,000 turnout on the first day of enrollment last year.
In a briefing of Cabinet members on Tuesday, a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address, Duterte discussed recent developments at the Department of Education (DepEd), including the ongoing enrollment process that could be done in person, remotely or through drop box forms.
DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa, in a radio interview, noted that most students personally went to schools to register even though online enrollment was also allowed.
The department expects around 28.6 million learners to enroll for the coming school year.
Duterte said the DepEd regional offices had been instructed to coordinate with their Department of Health counterparts and continue “counseling” families with unvaccinated students.
“Once the counseling is successful, they [will] initiate mobile vaccination in our schools for those who will give their consent to be vaccinated,” she added.
The DepEd has also launched mental health programs to help students transition from online to in-person learning.
At the same time, the Brigada Eskwela and “Adopt a school” programs would begin on Aug. 1.
Last week, Duterte visited schools in Bohol province that were destroyed by Typhoon “Odette” in 2021 to check on their rehabilitation.
“We already talked to our finance strand in the department to look for savings in the past year and this year and [we] requested the realignment of these savings for the repair and reconstruction of classrooms and buildings,” she said.
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