DepEd-12 all set for early school registration
January 28, 2011 11:31 am
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Jan. 28 – Education officials in Region 12 or Southwestern Mindanao have declared an all systems go for Saturdays scheduled early registration for all incoming kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils and first year high school students in the region.
Allan Farnazo, Department of Education (DepEd) Region 12 assistant regional director, said Friday all public schools in the region have so far completed their preparations for the nationwide registration activity, which mainly aims to ensure the enrollment of all school-aged children for school year 2011-2012.
Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
Farnazo said they started their preparations for the activity since the last quarter of last year to ensure a favorable turnout and participation rate, especially among parents.
We earlier launched a region-wide information drive to make sure that all concerned parents as well as pupils and students are well informed about it, he said.
DepEd launched the early registration scheme as part of its efforts to achieve universal participation on basic education and to remain on track in meeting the Millennium Development Goals Education for All target by 2015.
Based on DepEds Department Order No.2, the scheduled early registration activities target all five year-olds to be enrolled in kindergarten and all six year-olds in Grade 1.
It was also mandated in public secondary schools to guarantee the enrolment of incoming first year students in their preferred high school.
In South Cotabato, acting Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Fe Sepaya urged parents and students in the province to take advantage of the early registration.
The early registration is for free so theres no need for our parents to worry about any fees, she said.
Sepaya said parents and guardians of incoming kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils only need to bring the birth certificates of the children to facilitate their registration.
For the incoming first year high school students, she said they only require a report card or a certification detailing a pupils eligibility or status.
Through the early registration, Farnazo said they expect to obtain the actual enrollment data for the next school year and identify students and pupils who are already opting to drop out or quit schooling for various reasons.
We want to establish these figures as early as possible so we can map out more effective interventions, especially in terms of addressing problems on drop outs, declining participation rates and the allocation of available school resources, he said.
Farnazo said school heads and teachers will also have an idea much earlier as to who among their students and pupils would need more attention to ensure that they remain in school and continue their studies and provide early interventions to those who are opting to quit their studies due to poverty and other related problems.
During the last two years, public school teachers in the area had been using the early registration records in finding the whereabouts of students who registered but later failed to enroll.
DepEd officials in the region had been encouraging teachers to even conduct house to house visits to make sure that all their students would enroll and continue with their schooling. (PNA)
FFC/AVE/with Hydee S. Templonuevo