The Department of Education (DepEd-6) reported that some 1,561,375 learners from kindergarten to senior high school (SHS), or 86.79 percent of their target, have enrolled in public schools from June 1 to July 17.

DepEd-6 spokesperson Dr. Lea Belleza said 89,977 or 38.08 percent of their target enrolled in private schools, 303 (15.63 percent) in local and state universities and colleges (SUCs), and 24,488 (36.84 percent) in the alternative learning system (ALS).

“For us in DepEd, we are happy about that figure, we are happy with that number considering that we only did enrollment through (a) remote scheme. When we say remote it’s through online, call, text, and we did a dropbox or kiosk enrollment,” Belleza said.

The figures show that parents are eager to send their children to school and be counted in the opening of School Year 2020-2021, she added.

Belleza said DepEd is looking forward to a “unique, novel, exciting, meaningful” opening of classes this August 24.

“This will be very exciting for the Department of Education actually. We will have a dry run of our various modalities in our schools’ division offices,” she added.

Belleza said so far, a big chunk of the learners opted for the modular learning modality. Other modes are radio- and television-based, blended, or a combination of one or two modalities and online.

She said modules that would be used would be centralized. From the central office, they will be downloaded to the regional up to the division offices in digital form.

“Here in the region as our initiative while waiting for the modules, on our own we have our pool of writers who prepared our modules in schools and division offices. These (modules) will undergo quality assurance to make sure that the content, process, and strategy will suit well for the kids and they follow our most essential learning competency,” Belleza said.

She said DepEd has no directive to allow learners to go to school as part of a blended mode of learning.

“Assessments and exams will be done either modular, through an activity sheet, or online platform. No children are allowed to go back to school,” Belleza said.

Meanwhile, she noted that there would somehow be a shift in responsibility from the teachers to the parents.

“It is not passing the responsibility to them but we urge them to be responsible for their children. First, they can train them on how to manage their time, give them comfortable space at home, and monitoring of their children when they are working parents,” Belleza said.

Schools will call parents for an orientation.

She also said that while the official enrollment officially ended on July 15, schools would continue to accept transferees or enrollees provided they could attend 80 percent of the 203 required class days.Perla Lena/PNA