MANILA, Philippines — As the school year 2023-2024 draws near, the Department of Education (DepEd) reported on Saturday that more than 21 million students have already registered for the upcoming academic term.
With enrollment wrapping up on Saturday, DepEd's Learner Information System revealed that 21,029,531 students have been enrolled nationwide.
Leading the enrollment numbers is Region 4A, with 3,323,943 students who have registered. Following closely are the National Capital Region with 2,437,041 enrollees and Region 3 with 2,394,421 students.
Last year, the count of enrolled students in basic education reached around 28.7 million, of which roughly 24 million were distributed across public kindergartens, elementary and high schools.
DepEd expected approximately 28 million students for the upcoming school year. The majority are projected to once again enroll in more than 47,000 public schools throughout the nation.
More students are opting for public schools due to economic difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a steady increase in recent years.
Classes are set to commence on August 29 for all public schools. Meanwhile, some private schools have already begun their classes. — Kristine Daguno-Bersamina