THE DEPARTMENT of Education urged parents and guardians to enroll their children ahead of the school opening on August 22.

“Gusto pa nating anyayahan ‘yong ating mga magulang na hindi pa po na-e-enroll ang kanilang anak sa mga eskwela na i-enrol na natin sila,” DepEd spokesperson Michael Wesley Poa said during the joint press briefing with the Office of the Vice President on Wednesday.

“Sana po maiwasan natin iyan (na mahabol ang last day), makapag-enroll ngayon sa lalong madaling panahon para maihanda rin ng Department of Education base doon sa actual expected learners natin ‘yong ating paaralan,” Poa added.

Based on DepEd’s figures, the total number of enrollees for School Year 2022-2023 has reached 19.26 million on Thursday.

The updated enrollment data is already 69.89 percent of the 27.5 million learners recorded in the enrollment of School Year 2021-2022 and is near the target of 28.6 million for this school year.

“’Yong first week po natin last year was around 2.4 million enrolled learners. This year, mayroon na po tayong 10.4 million enrollees doon pa lang sa first week,” Poa said.

Poa gave assurances that DepEd prepared measures to address challenges faced by schools hit by disasters.

The Department also said that it will launch, together with partner agencies from the public and private sectors and other stakeholders, the Public Assistance Command Center on August 15, 2022, to manage the public’s concerns and issues regarding the opening of classes.

“The opening of classes will not be without challenges but if we can help each other, tulong-tulong po tayo, masisiguro natin ang ligtas na pagbabalik-eskwela ng ating mga learners,” Poa said.