AS THE new school year opens on Monday, June 4, the Department of Education (DepEd)-Davao is calling on parents whose children are not yet enrolled to register them before the enrollment period ends.
DepEd-Davao spokesperson Jenielito Atillo told SunStar Davao that all the public schools are given a week extension for registration while private schools are given the prerogative for their registration period.
For parents whose children are not yet registered, Atillo said, they are giving them time to enroll their children because once the enrollment period is over, all the schools will no longer cater to enrollees, especially when classes are already going on.
"Please do not blame any school if it will no longer accept your child when the registration period is over. Aside from that, there are also schools na puno na mao di na sila mudawat ug estudyante (other schools are full and will no longer accept students)," Atillo said.
Atillo urged the parents to be observant of the registration schedules of respective schools. He said they are hoping that parents would understand the policy of the schools since this is for the welfare of their children.
"We would also like to call on parents to enroll their children in nearby schools from their respective residences. All the schools are competitive, the teachers underwent the same training and have the same curriculum," he added.
Atillo issued such statement as there are parents who wanted to enroll their children to a specific school thinking that that school is more competitive compared to other schools.
"Daghan lang extracurricular activities ang uban schools (Others just have more extracurricular activities), but as to the curriculum and trainings of the teachers, all are the same. Enrolling your child to a specific school will only create abnormal scarcity on rooms/teachers," he said.
On Monday, June 4, about 28 million students are expected to return to public and private elementary and secondary schools nationwide, while over one million students are expected to attend their respective classes in Davao region.
As part of the Deped's Oplan Balik Eskwela, various government agencies and private partners detailed plans and preparation for the opening of the school year 2018-2019.
In a memorandum of the DepEd, this year’s school year shall formally open on June 4, 2018 and shall end Friday, April 5, 2019. The learners are expected to be in school for a total of 200 class days.
This year's school year shall consist of 208 school days inclusive of the five-day In-Service Training and three days for the Parent-Teacher Conferences conducted within the school year.
Private schools may deviate from this school calendar. But they may not start their classes earlier than the first Monday of June and not later than the last day of August.
All schools should notify in advance to their respective regional offices regarding any deviation from the school calendar.