PASIG CITY, January 29, 2019 – The Department of Education (DepEd) successfully conducted the first day of the early registration last January 26, Saturday, noting a huge turnout of incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11 learners who trooped to public schools across the country to be pre-registered for School Year (SY) 2019-2020.

As of January 28, Monday, a total of 760,530 learners already had their information encoded in the Early Registration Module of the Learner Information System (LIS). The breakdown of pre-registered learners per region is as follows:

The Department also observed a more organized early registration compared to the previous years, mainly due to the strengthened information dissemination and the issuance of DepEd Order No. 3, series 2018 (Basic Education Enrollment Policy), which unified the policies on enrollment and clarified the requirements. The DO also helped minimize the common questions of parents/guardians on pre-registering their children, specifically on the age requirement for Kindergarten and Grade 1. The teachers readily assisted the parents/guardians and the learners at easily accessible pre-registration areas within the schools.

“It’s just the first day, we have an entire month to go but we’re already seeing that this year is different given the efficiency of our teachers and key school personnel in immediately resolving the minor challenges encountered. This difference is also seen in how we strongly emphasize inclusivity in the early registration process as schools highlight the various inclusive education programs that they offer, particularly Special Education (SPED) and the Alternative Learning System (ALS),” Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones remarked.

DepEd further attributed the orderly implementation of the early registration to the active involvement of all stakeholders: the Schools Division Offices and schools that have mobilized their respective communities and local government units in advocacy drive through motorcades, and strategically placed posters and banners; the Central, Regional, and Division Offices, and schools that have harnessed the power of social media in spreading proper information to guide parents/guardians and learners; media, education partners, and other external stakeholders that have intensified the campaign for the activity.

The early registration, which aims to provide the Department with pertinent data to anticipate the influx of students in the incoming school year and to ready the resources needed, will continue until February 22, Friday.

After the month-long activity, the agency will conduct an in-depth review of the entire early registration process to identify the effective practices, major challenges and the respective solutions to further strengthen the implementation.

The early registration was first conducted in 2008, primarily aimed at high school students, in compliance with DepEd Order No. 62, s. 2008 (Early Registration for Incoming First Year High School Students for School Year 2009-2010). In 2011, the initiative was extended to Kindergarten and elementary under DepEd Order No. 2, s. 2011 (Declaring January 29, 2011 as Early Registration Day for School Year 2011-2012 to Achieve the Millennium Development Goal in Education), and was strengthened following the issuance of DepEd Order No. 3, series 2018.

END