The Education department has extended the enrolment for public high school students to July 15, 2020, for those who still have to list up for the 2020-2021 online classes, Malacañang said Tuesday.
The enrolment for the 2020-2021 school year was supposed to end on June 30.
“Let’s not stop the education of our students even with the COVID-19,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in televised press briefing.
He made the announcement even as Senator Win Gatchalian urged local government units to help the Education department localize the Learning Continuity Plan or LCP.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on basic education, arts and culture, says that would respond to the specific needs and concerns of learners, parents and teachers when classes reopen.
He says since connectivity and the availability of gadgets remain a challenge to most learners, there is a need to identify and maximize alternative learning modalities that are most accessible—especially in the far-flung areas.
Roque said the government recorded only more than 672,000 enrollees in the private schools for the coming school year.
But he cited Education Secretary Leonor Briones as saying that 15,223,315 students had already enrolled in the public schools and 672,403 in the private schools.
The region with the least number of enrollees was the Cordillera Administrative Region with 262,578, followed by the Caraga Region with 416,807 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with 421,582.
So far, CALABARZON had the most number of enrollees with 2,316,903, followed by Central Luzon with 1,744,169 and the National Capital Region with 1,740,550.
The Education department has proposed blended learning, like online and modular learning, and tapping radio and television networks to ensure the delivery of lessons for the coming school year that begins on Aug. 24.
Face-to-face classes will not be held until a COVID-19 vaccine is available.