VICE PRESIDENT and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday commended the successful resumption of face-to-face classes nationwide after more than two years of school closure.

Duterte said the country could not afford to delay the education of Filipino youth and that bringing students back to in-person learning was necessary.

“Today, we acknowledge that this is a victory for basic education. But without a doubt, this is also a victory for all the teachers, support staff, parents, LGUs, other government partners, private sector, and civil society advocate, supporters, and all education stakeholders,” she said during her visit to the Dinalupihan Elementary School in Bataan.

Data from the DepEd showed that 27,691,191 students enrolled in public and private kindergarten, elementary and high schools nationwide.

While still below the agency’s 28.6 million target, the number exceeded last year’s 27,560,661.

The official enrollment period ended on Monday, the first day of classes, with DepEd still yet to decide whether to allow late enrollees.

Meanwhile, Duterte said the DepEd divisions and regional offices have prepared many recovery plans to address learning gaps and accelerate student learning “during this critical period.”

“DepEd special programs will be complemented by interventions from education partners to aid the recovery from learning loss,” the DepEd chief said.