DepEd: Enrollees for SY 2020-2021 reach more than 23 million

This photo shows 7-year-old Rajo Filio, a Grade 2 student in a private school in Quezon City, participating in his online class on Wednesday, August 12, 2020. Contributed photo

MANILA, Philippines — Over 23 million learners have enrolled in both public and private schools for the upcoming School Year 2020-2021, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported Wednesday, less than two weeks before the reopening of classes on August 24.

Data from DepEd showed that 23.11 million students have enrolled as of Wednesday morning.

This is more than 83 percent of DepEd’s target of over 27 million, which was the number of enrollees last year.

Of the 23.11 million enrollees, more than 21.5 million enrolled in public schools while more than 1.56 million registered in private institutions.

The data includes those enrolled in kindergarten, elementary, junior high school, and senior high school levels.

It also includes learners with disabilities and those enrolled in an alternative learning system (ALS).

Classes are set to open on August 24 under a distance learning set-up as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

In a Senate basic education hearing, DepEd Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan admitted that preparing for the reopening of classes under a new normal has been “very challenging.”

“Ang atin pong pagahahanda ay very challenging and this is new for us but we are taking this challenge. There is a need to ensure that learning continues in a safe manner,” he said.

DepEd has been preparing for blended learning, which is a combination of online distance learning and in-person delivery of learning materials to the homes of the learners, for SY 2020-2021.

Teaching with the use of radio and television will also be done for students who do not have access to a computer or the internet.

KGA