THE NUMBER of enrollees for School Year 2021-2022 reached 25.5 million after the Department of Education extended the enrollment period until the end of September.

As of Tuesday, September 14, 25,582,224 students have signed up. Of this number, 19,411,039 were enrolled in public schools and 1,563,321 were listed in private learning institutions.

This is 97.5 percent of the 26.2 million recorded last school year.

Enrollees in state and local universities increased to 50,537 while 198,297 students  registered under the Alternative Learning System program.

There were 4,557,327 Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7 and 11 learners who participated in the early registration held from March to May.

Education Leonor Briones said the department expects to exceed the 26.2 million learners who enlisted last year.

“We expect the numbers to grow when we get news from the schools abroad, from our Philippine schools abroad and if we take into consideration non-formal education or the Alternative Learning System, so we expect to match last year’s performance in enrolment,” she said.