MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) is targeting 28.6 million basic education enrollees for school year 2022 to 2023 – over a million students more than the previous school year.

At the joint press briefing with the Office of the Vice President on Wednesday, July 27, DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said that the turnout during the first day of enrollment on July 25 was a “far cry” from 2021.

“Nakapagtala po tayo ng 3.3 million enrollees noong first day. It is a far cry doon sa naitala natin last year which was only a little bit over 220,000,” Poa said.

(We were able to record a total of 3.3 million enrollees during the first day. It is a far cry from last year, which was only a little bit over 220,000.)

“Sana po magtuloy-tuloy ‘yung assumption natin na 28.6 million learners for the upcoming school year,” he added. (We hope we will meet our assumption of 28.6 million learners for the upcoming school year.)

As of Wednesday, a total of 5.6 million students have enrolled. Under DepEd Order Number 35, the enrollment period for the upcoming school year is from July 25 to August 22. Students can enlist through three different modes: in-person, remotely, or through dropbox forms.

In an earlier interview, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte expressed optimism that enrollment for the upcoming school year will surpass the previous 27,232,095 students.

Why this matters

It would be interesting to note whether the enrollment figures would increase since Duterte ordered all schools in the country to shift to traditional face-to-face classes on November 2, although exemptions can be given to “very specific areas” where blended learning can continue.

Poa, however, said that the goal of DepEd was to transition all schools to in-person classes by then, noting that almost all schools in the country are “ready” for the shift.

While it is high time for the Philippine schools to return to face-to-face classes, students and parents said in social media posts that in-person classes should be done only in areas where it is safe to do so.

Over two years into the pandemic, the Philippines is among the few countries in the world where schools have not fully opened for in-person classes.

Some studies have shown that students are “learning less” under the distance learning setup. Experts and lawmakers were alarmed by the learning losses brought by the pandemic. – Rappler.com