Enrollment down in Bacolod, Negros

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Department of Education (DepEd) has recorded a decline in the number of enrollees here and in Negros Occidental this school year (SY) due to migration and late enrollment of students.

Based on the quick count of the recent enrolment, there are 612,807 enrollees in elementary and high school in the province, while there are 141,122 enrollees in elementary, junior high school (JHS), senior high school (SHS), and Alternative Learning System (ALS) here, as of August 30.

For Bacolod public schools, 65,169 have enrolled for elementary, 31,030 in JHS, and 13,093 in SHS. For private schools here, there are 11,619 enrollees in elementary, 8,944 in JHS, 11,267 in SHS, and 300 in ALS.

The decrease in enrollees here this SY was noted at 14,449 from 155,571 enrollees last school year, while the province has a 13 percent drop from last year’s enrollment.

According to Lila Arro, spokesperson of DepEd Division of Bacolod, parents’ compliance to enroll their children during the enrollment period contributed to the decrease in enrollment. The enrollment period ended on August 26.

However, for the secondary level, Arro said that putting up enrollment desks in schools is ongoing, as there are many students who still want to enroll, amid the opening of classes on August 29.

Meanwhile, Councilor Al Espino, chairman of the Committee on Education, in a press briefing yesterday, said that the distribution of free school supplies to preschool and elementary pupils in all public schools here will be scheduled in October.

Espino said the distribution was delayed because of the shortage of paper supply in the country.

The councilor said the city intends to provide school supplies to at least 66,000 students here, as the enrollment dropped this SY, compared to their 72,000 student-recipients last year.

Based on the approved ordinance authored by former councilor Ceasar Distrito in 2016, the city will allocate P15 million for this program.

Espino said that DepEd has already submitted its recommended budget for free school supplies, which is P26 million. “We want it bigger and better next year,” he added.