DepEd 7 to parents: Enroll children early

LESS than two weeks before official enrollment begins, the Department of Education (DepEd) 7 is urging parents to enroll their children early.

Late enrollees may not be included in the budget, according to DepEd 7 Director Salustiano Jimenez.

“I kept on reiterating that actually this is for the nth time… that our only plea is for parents to enroll their children early because there are so many factors that prevent us from addressing the deficiencies or needs of schools due to this enrollment,” Jimenez said in a mix of Cebuano and English during an interview on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

Reasons

Jimenez said early enrollment is vital for determining classroom needs, teacher deployment, and the allocation of maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).

“You cannot say that once enrollment is complete, we will just compute; we cannot do that,” he said. “If you enroll after the cut-off, they cannot be included in the budget.”

He said a cut-off date — such as June 15 — allows DepEd to assess the number of classrooms, teachers and MOOE required before classes begin on June 16.

While DepEd will still accept late enrollees, their number must not exceed 20 percent of the school calendar. However, late enrollment may also cause delays in students’ learning.

Brigada Eskwela

The Brigada Eskwela, a volunteer clean-up and repair initiative in public schools, will run from June 9 to June 15. Jimenez has instructed school superintendents to adopt a “welcoming approach” toward enrollees and parents participating in the activity.

Jimenez also addressed the impact of the newly created Negros Island Region (NIR) on Central Visayas. Central Visayas previously included Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. With the creation of the NIR, it now comprises only Cebu and Bohol.

This restructuring has reduced the region’s student population from approximately 2.1 million to 1.6 million.

According to SunStar Cebu in August 2024, DepEd 7 was more than 100,000 students short of its target enrollment two weeks after the start of classes. / CDF