DepEd welcomed 27.2 million students for 2018-2019 schoolyear

June 4, 2019

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday welcomed its approximately 27.2 million kindergarten to Grade 12 learners back to school and reported a generally orderly first day of school year 2019-2020 nationwide.

From the previous year’s 27,018,509, the projected number of enrollees in the formal education for this school year increased to 27,216,398.

An additional 735,000 are expected to enroll in the Alternative Learning System, DepEd’s second chance education program for out-of-school youth and adults.

“Given our continuously increasing population and the challenges that we have to hurdle, we are likewise increasing our efforts to deliver quality, accessible, relevant, and liberating basic education for the Filipino learners,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.

Briones asured the public that the Department is ready for the opening of classes during the press conference on day one of the new school year.

To ensure a smooth school opening, DepEd set in motion its flagship programs, projects, and activities including the early registration which enlisted approximately five million new entrants from Kindergarten and Grades 1, 7, and 11 as early as February.

The week-long Brigada Eskwela mobilized communities and various sectors of the society who contributed their time, effort, and resources to prepare the schools’ physical facilities and provide the learners with a safe and nurturing environment.

Oplan Balik Eskwela command centers and hotlines nationwide—from the Central to the Regional and Schools Division Offices—were activated last May 27 and will remain open until June 7 to attend to school opening queries, problems, and concerns of stakeholders. DMS