CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) is still focusing on enrollment as a primary concern.
DepEd-7 Director Salustiano Jimenez said on Wednesday that although the number of enrolled students has increased, there are still some who haven’t enrolled yet.
Public schools started classes on July 29, and some private schools began on August 12. However, as of this week, parents and guardians are still enrolling their children.
Two weeks after classes started, Jimenez observed, based on reports from Cebu’s division offices, that enrollment numbers are still rising.
As of August 13, according to the latest data shared by Jimenez, there are 1,936,931 students enrolled in Central Visayas.
This includes 1,698,950 in public schools, 214,792 in private schools, 1,157 in State or Local Universities and Colleges, and 22,043 in the Alternative Learning System (ALS), making up 93.24% of the target enrollment.
In a previous interview on July 29 with CDN Digital, Jimenez mentioned that the department is aiming to reach two million enrollees in Region 7.
“Ang mga ginikanan ato pod sige og awhag nga katong mga bata nga wala pa makaadto sa eskwelahan ila nagyud tawng dad-on (for enrollment),” Jimenez said.
Reasons for delayed enrollment
Jimenez explained that some students are enrolling late or are still unenrolled because their parents or guardians have busy schedules, or due to relocation.
“Nadugay sila kay ni transfer from one municipality niadto og laing municipality or tungod kay nabalhin og trabaho ang mama o papa, so nanunod pod sila didto or naa ro’y demolition nga nahitabo sa usa ka lugar then ila nalang pod [ibalhin ang anak]. Usahay mamalhin daghan,” Jimenez explained.
READ: DepEd starts enrollment in public schools
He emphasized that even with a busy schedule, guardians should prioritize enrolling their children. Enrollment is crucial because DepEd has a cutoff for gathering data, which is needed for planning future programs and budget allocation.
“Usahay moingon ta daghan na kaayog enrollment pero wala na naapil sa budget kay uwahi naman siya nahatag nga data,” Jimenez added.
Jimenez also noted that delaying enrollment can negatively impact a child’s learning process.
“Mao na ang mga ginikanan, ang ato lang gyung gi request nga ang ilang pagpakabana. Kanunay pagpakabana para sa atong kabataan that we have to remember that the key to progress and development is through education. Education is the best investment that we could give to our children,” the regional director said.
He mentioned that while students can still enroll up to 40 days after classes start, it would be difficult for them to catch up.
“Actually, after 40 days, that could be 1 month and 10 days or 1 month and a half allowance [na ang student pwede pa ma enroll] but again ang problema ana kung ila na eh consume daan, wala na silay chance na mo absent pa in the next months…so that would be very difficult to the learners to cope up,” Jimenez said. /with a report from Jasmin Meode, CTU Intern