NINE private schools in Davao Region have signified their intention to temporarily stop operation for school year (SY) 2021-2022, the Department of Education-Davao Region (DepEd-Davao) said.
DepEd-Davao Spokesperson Jenielito Atillo said in a virtual presser on Wednesday, September 15, that they already received the formal letter from the schools, which are coming from both elementary and secondary education.
However, he said DepEd-Davao cannot officially declare the temporary suspension of these schools as they are still awaiting the board of resolution from the trustees and board of directors from these schools.
"If it's only a letter signifying their intention to close or suspend, we will not consider it yet. That's why we have to write back, and then advise them to give us this very important piece of document which is actually also notarized," Atillo said during the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police (AFP-PNP) Press Corps Southern Mindanao virtual presser.
Atillo did not name the schools, although he said it is all in Davao Region.
DepEd-Davao said a total of 47 private schools during the SY 2020-2021 signified their intention to temporarily stop their operation due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they resumed their operations the following SY.
Atillo said there has been a decrease in enrollees in private schools due to the financial struggle of some parents to enroll their students.
“Massive ang exodus (There has been a massive exodus of students) last year, and then we do have the same situation this year because we don’t have face-to-face (classes) yet. It’s actually an anticipated situation,” the DepEd official said.
As of September 15, the official said a total of 1,285,891 students in the entire region are enrolled for the SY 2021-2022. This is lower compared to the number of enrollees in 2020, which was 1,289,331.
“We have reached the 99.7-percent threshold of the number of enrolment vis-a-vis the population last year,” he said.
Out of the 1,285,891 students currently enrolled, 963,986 are enrolled in public school, while 82,905 enrolled in private.
Atillo also emphasized that the current SY will still implement the blended distance learning modality as face-to-face classes remain suspended.