23M learners back to school today

Over 23 million learners are expected to return to public elementary and high schools nationwide as the Department of Education officially opens School Year 20182019 today.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones is personally monitoring the first day of classes and will visit the Quezon City High School in Diliman, Quezon City.

Data showed that 84.5 percent or 23,463,675 kinder, elementary, and high school students are expected to go public schools based on the results of the early registration last February.

The projected enrollment for kindergarten in public schools is 2,637,351; 12,663,690 in elementary or Grades 1 to 6; junior high school or Grades 7 to 10, 6,711,367; and senior high school, 1,451,267.

DepEd Undersecretary for Planning and Field Operations Jesus Mateo said the projected enrollment for school year 2018-2019 in all basic education levels nationwide – public and private schools as well as state universities and colleges and local universities and colleges – is 27,757,546 as of May 11.

In the coming days or weeks, 4,140,884 or 14.9 percent of learners are also expected to troop to private schools and 152,987 (0.6 percent) to SUCs and LUCs.

Private schools may deviate from the school opening scheduled by the DepEd as long as they do not start classes “earlier than the first Monday of June and not later than the last day of August.”