Despite opposition and criticism from activist groups, enrollment in the Philippines still pushed through.
Enrollment in the Philippines
The monthlong enrollment in the Philippines is about to approach its final week. Based on the Department of Education’s database, around 13.7 million students worldwide have already been enrolled for the school year 2020-2021.
According to DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones, the actual enrollees during the monthlong enrollment in the Philippines have already reached half the number of expected students for the school year 2020-2021.
The number of enrollees is quite overwhelming, considering that this enrollment phase was conducted remotely.
The remote enrollment just started this June, teachers used mobile phones and social media to reach out to parents regarding their interest to enroll their students for the upcoming school year. Information used by the parents was based on last school year’s school records.
Next phase of enrollment
Since the remote enrollment cannot accommodate every student, especially those from far-flung provinces. The department is planning to conduct a different type of enrollment system that will follow proper guidelines in maintaining sanitary and social distancing measures for COVID-19.
If this phase of enrollment pushes through, the number of enrolled students for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year is expected to surge.
The proposal is a dropbox system, where parents can fill up forms and drop at designated dropboxes assigned by the school. It’s like a raffle draw system. Teachers or school staff will then pick up the contents of the box, undergo sanitation, and input the names of the students who wish to enroll for this school year.
