Senior high enrolment reaches 1.5 M

More than 1.5 million students have enrolled in senior high school this year, with the Department of Education (DepEd) saying the figures debunked earlier concerns that the additional two years in basic education will result in a huge drop-out rate among students.

During a hearing of the Senate committee on education yesterday, DepEd officials led by Secretary Leonor Briones presented an update on the implementation of the K-12 program.

DepEd Undersecretary for programs and projects Dina Ocampo said a total of 1,517,610 students enrolled in Grade 11 based on data as of Aug. 19.

Of the total number, 1,460,970 students were those who completed Grade 10 in March, while the rest were either returnees or passers of the accreditation and equivalency exam.

Briones said the figures disproved earlier concerns that hundreds of thousands of junior high school completers would drop out from the education system due to expenses arising from the additional two years.

Among more than 1.46 million out of the total 1.48 million who finished Grade 10, Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the committee on education, noted an unprecedented 98 percent continuing to Grade 11.

During the opening of classes in June, then DepEd secretary Armin Luistro said a conservative estimate of Grade 11 students would be around 1.2 million, possibly resulting in the 200,000 to 400,000 junior high school completers dropping out.

At the time, the figures in DepEd’s learner information system stood at around 700,000.

In his last few weeks in office, Luistro ordered school officials to track down students to ensure that they proceed to senior high school.

Prior to the end of the previous administration, DepEd revised its estimates, saying it expected enrolment in Grade 11 to reach at least 90 percent among those who finished Grade 10.

Voucher grantees

Meanwhile, more than half a million students have qualified under the government’s voucher program, a form of subsidy given to students who are enrolled in non-DepEd senior high schools.

Ocampo said over 384,000 of the grantees were graduates of public schools who proceeded to private senior high schools or state/local colleges and universities that offer Grades 11 and 12.

More than 71,000 were qualified private school graduates, while over 68,000 were those who were already under a similar subsidy program while still in junior high school.

DepEd hired over 36,000 new teachers for senior high school, including 4,000 who came from higher education institutions.

In terms of classroom construction, DepEd said funding for over 100,000 new classrooms have been allocated from 2014 to 2016, with the projects either completed or ongoing.

Aside from ensuring the proper implementation of the last year of the senior high school program next year, Briones said the new administration will also focus on reaching out to out-of-school youth.