DepEd still undecided on whether to accept late enrollees

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Education is still deliberating whether or not to accept late enrollees as Education Secretary Armin Luistro said parents and students were given enough time to register for the school year.

On a visit at the San Juan Elementary School Monday morning, Luistro said DepEd would first study whether public schools could still accommodate students who failed to register ahead of Monday’s class opening.

Latecomers will remain wait-listed until DepEd has made its decision, officials said.

“If they were able to wait six months before enrolling, maybe they can wait one or two weeks more until we have made a decision,” Luistro said in a press conference.

DepEd had called on parents and students to register in January so that school officials could promptly prepare for the class opening.

“If there are shortages in teachers, classrooms, seats, textbooks and sanitation facilities, the biggest shortage is time. A child’s time in school should not be wasted,” said Luistro.

He said the school year’s 180 days should be considered “sacred” and that the school year should start will all classes holding lessons.

Classes in some 45,000 public schools opened Monday with an estimated 22 million students.