ILOILO – Despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, parents came in numbers to register their children for school year 2021-2022.
According to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Schools Division of Iloilo, as of last week around 120,277 learners were registered to entry level Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 7 and Grade 11 in public schools.
Pre-registration began on March and continued until May 31 this year, said Leonil Salvilla, information officer of the Schools Division of Iloilo.
They were not able to gather information on other grade levels since these students were automatically enrolled upon completing their academic requirements, Salvilla explained.
“If maka-comply ang learner sa mga academic requirements automatically ginapasaka naton sa next grade level,” he said.
Requirements for the pre-registration include the birth certificate for incoming kindergarten pupils.
Those entering Grade 1, Grade 7 and Grade 11 will only be required their personal information from their birth certificates.
The manner of pre-registration varied from school to school, with some opting to go online, while others have utilized drop boxes and walk-ins.
Salvilla said the pre-registration will be DepEd’s basis in policy-making and budget allocation.
“Kon ma-determine na ang number of learners for the next school year, ma-estimate sang central office ang i-allocate nga pundo to support these learners,” said Salvilla.
He added: “Kag siempre kon mabal-an man sang schools naton ang number of learners, maka-preparar man ang eskwelahan naton, for example, sa schedule sang kabataan, assignment sang teachers or pila ka teachers ang needed naton for Grade 7 or classrooms.”
However, Salvilla clarified that learners unable to pre-register will still be accepted.
What about the mode of learning?
“Subong wala pa klaro nga instruction sa central office,” Salvilla said, adding that in the meantime, teachers will continue their preparations for modular lessons.
“Sa gihapon naga preparar kita for modular nga modality but of course gina-consider man ang kapasidad or situation sang iban nga schools. Basi may iban nga modality (like face-to-face learning) nga puede magamit for the school year,” Salvilla added.
What about those “pilot” schools?
Previously, five schools in this province have been identified as pilot areas for face-to-face classes should President Rodrigo Duterte order such.
These are:
* Tomas Confesor Memorial Elementary School in Barangay Tabucan, Cabatuan for the elementary level
* Granada National High School – Ballesteros Campus in Carles for junior high school
* Palanguia National High School in Barangay Palanguia, Pototan for senior high school
* Adgao-Tagpu-an-Ingay Integrated School in Tubungan for integrated school
* Cabacanan Elementary School in Alimodian for Indigenous Peoples education
According to Salvilla, they have to likewise wait for instructions from the central office.
Also, no advisory yet as to the official start of the school year, although Salvilla said it would likely fall around the last week of August./PN
