THE NUMBER of early registrants in Western Visayas for School Year 2023-2024 has reached 383,117, higher by 6.25 percent than last year, the Department of Education said.

“We surpassed this school year’s early registration of 360,571 learners by as much as 22,546 or an increase of around 6.25 percent,” DepEd Information Officer Hernani Escullar Jr. said.

Over 77,000 were registered for Kindergarten; 105,873 for Grade 1; 97,770 for Grade 7; and 102,260 for Grade 11, he added.

The early registration aims to help the department gather information about incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11, to prepare for the upcoming school year.

“This is to ensure that once they enter our public schools, we can provide adequate learning resources and materials. This is just among the data that we combined to make sure that every child in the region is provided with appropriate education,” Escullar said.

“The campaign to reach our target audience is not only for the early registration but during enrollment, which is being done intensely by our schools,” he added.