Expanded early school registration set on January 28

Expanded early school registration set on January 28

No one left behind. Everybody goes to school.

This is the goal set by the Department of Education as it declares January 28, 2012 as early registration day for School Year (S.Y.) 2012-2013 in all public elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

Last year, the early registration covered only kindergarten which jumpstarted the K to 12 basic education reform program, as well as Grade 1 pupils and First Year high school students. This year, DepEd has expanded the target of early registration to include out-of school children (OSC) and out-of school youth (OSY), and learners with disability.

“We have set aside this day for the early registration of out-of-school children, out-of-school –youth, children and youth with learning difficulties along with kinder, Grade 1 and incoming first year high school students,” said Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC.

Luistro said, the Philippines is firmly committed to meet the goals of universal basic education and Education For All being advocated by the United Nations.

The early registration seeks to reach out to all five year-old children to enrol in kindergarten and for six year-olds to enlist for Grade 1.

It also aims to guarantee enrolment of OSC and OSY from the disadvantaged groups, indigenous peoples and street children ages 5 to 18 in their preferred delivery system. They can choose between formal schooling through alternative delivery mode (ADM) or informal mode via the alternative learning system (ALS).

The early registration also aims to keep track of OSC and OSY with disabilities whose ages range from 5 to 18 across grade levels and provide them with appropriate education intervention. “The state mandates that all Filipinos with or without learning disabilities must have access to education and the early registration aims to count them in,” the education chief explained. 

In line with this, Luistro has asked the central, regional and division offices of DepEd to prepare the Three-Year Catch Up Plan in Basic Education from S.Y. 2012-2013 to S.Y. 2014-2015 in order to accommodate the increasing number of learners.

The early registration will also enlist the cooperation of the local government units, barangay officials, parents-teachers associations, civil society and the business sector. “With the help of our partners in education in this undertaking, we can make the necessary preparations and address potential resource needs in time for the opening of classes in June,” Luistro pointed out.

DepEd has always tapped the cooperation of the whole community to ensure that all learners are in school and that they stay in school through various intervention programs that will prevent them from dropping out.