LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Enrollment in the different public and private schools around the Cordillera continues to increase as late enrollees continue to flock to the various basic education institutions following the opening of classes last October 5, 2020.
May Eclar, regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Education (DepEd-CAR), said that based on the latest data from the different division offices, there is a total of 400,105 enrollees who are now attending classes under the various types of blended learning for the present schoolyear but the said figure is expected to increase in the coming weeks due to the ongoing acceptance of late enrollees.
However, she disclosed that this year enrollment represents 86.61 percent of the enrollment in the different public and private schools last year which was pegged at 461,935.
As per the data made available by the DepEd-CAR, enrollees in the kindergarten reached 28,299; elementary – 193,584; junior high school – 124,627; senior high school – 44,944; non-graded – 560 and Alternative Learning System (ALS) – 8,091.
Last schoolyear, enrollment in the kindergarten was 30,912; elementary – 211,695; junior high school – 139,507; senior high school – 57,054; non-graded – 727 and ALS – 22,040.
Benguet recorded the highest enrollment in kindergarten with 7,227 followed by Baguio City with 4,929 enrollees; bra – 4,301 enrollees; Ifugao – 3,616 enrollees; Mountain Province – 2,753 enrollees; Apayao – 2,461 enrollees; Kalinga – 1,516 enrollees and Tabuk city – 1,496 enrollees.
In the elementary level, Benguet registered the highest enrollment with 44,235 followed by Baguio city with 35,181; Abra – 28,436; Ifugao – 23,822; Mountain Province – 17,806; Tabuk City – 16,983; Apayao – 14,667 and Kalinga – 12,352.
Baguio City topped the enrollment in junior high school with 26,067 followed by Benguet with 24,099; Abra – 17,524; Ifugao – 14,932; Tabuk City – 13,660; Mountain Province – 11,503, Apayao – 10,059 and Kalinga – 7,083.
In the senior high school, Benguet topped the enrollment with 9,012 followed by Baguio City with 8,359; Abra – 6,518; Tabuk City – 6,142; Ifugao – 5,295; Mountain Province – 4,095; Apayao – 3,446 and Kalinga – 2,077.
For learners with disabilities that is non graded, Baguio City topped the list with 200 followed by Benguet with 159; Apayao – 55; Mountain Province – 50; Abra – 35; Tabuk city – 26; Ifugao – 15 and Kalinga with no enrollees
ALS enrollees in Apayao topped the list with 2,537 followed by Benguet with 1,476; Abra – 1,074; Mountain Province – 972; Baguio City – 610; Tabuk city – 542; Kalinga – 452 and Ifugao – 428.
Director Eclar stated that the enrollment could possibly increase in the coming weeks because of the continuous surge of late enrollees in the different schools in the region as the education department still welcomes late enrollees up to November 21, 2020 for them to be able to catch up with the lessons that had been provided under the present blended learning set up to prevent the children from being exposed to the dreaded Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). That had virtually changed the way of life of the people in the world. By HENT