Early school registration set

MANILA, Philippines – Public school students and their parents have been urged to avail themselves of the government’s early registration for school year 2016-2017, which will start tomorrow, the Department of Education (DepEd) said yesterday.

DepEd Assistant Secretary Jesus Mateo said the early registration would give the agency more time to prepare for the influx of students in June, and address problems like overcrowding.

“We call on all stakeholders and partners like local government units down to barangay level, as well as the private sector to participate,” Mateo said during the first DepEd Kapihan with the Media in Pasig City.

 “It’s a good opportunity especially for first time students to see their schools, which will serve as their second home,” he said.

 The early registration will run until Feb. 29.

DepEd has asked schools to come up with various activities like house-to-house campaigns or meetings with local and barangay officials and civic or private organizations to help and locate school age children.

Children who turn five years old by June 1 will be accepted in kindergarten.

 “The age appropriateness of the curriculum will be lost if children younger than five years old are admitted to the kindergarten program,” the agency said. 

Kindergarten completers will be accepted to Grade 1.

 Parents are urged to bring the children’s birth certificates during registration.

If the certificate is not available during the early registration period, the document can be submitted within the school year. 

Senior High School

DepEd yesterday released the guidelines for hiring senior high school (SHS) teachers.

 The agency allotted P10.2 billion for hiring new senior high school teachers this year, and P3.9 billion for teaching-related and non-teaching positions.

 Mateo said 41,692 individuals have applied for the position. Of the number, 11,824 are fresh graduates; 4,912 from different industries; 4,140 from higher education institutions; 2,229 from junior high schools, 510 from private institutions, and 17,147 from DepEd.

 In November, there were 1.3 million students who registered for Grade 11 for school year 2016-2017. Of these, 1.1 million were from public high schools, Mateo said, adding a majority or 59 percent of them have chosen the academic track.

 Mateo said 878,000 of the registrants would enroll in public senior high schools, while 438,000 would go to private schools.

 The DepEd has set aside P12 billion this year for its SHS Voucher Program, which seeks to subsidize a portion of the tuition of public and private Grade 10 completers for senior high school.