Western Visayas schools see lower enrollment for opening

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor and Mariela Angella Oladive

(UPDATED) Western Visayas schools reported a 30 percent decrease in enrollment as classes for the 2024-2025 academic year opened on Monday, July 29, 2024.

The region welcomed 1,409,134 learners from basic elementary education to senior high school this year, a significant drop from last year’s enrollment of 2,012,930.

The figures include 705,602 elementary students, 468,086 junior high school students, and 235,446 senior high school students.

“The data was as of July 26, but the encoding is still ongoing. The number already covers enrollment from public, private, state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges,” Hernani Escullar Jr., the information officer of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas, said in an interview.

While the reason for the decrease in enrollment remained unclear, Escullar encouraged parents to continue enrolling their children, as public schools are still accepting enrollees.

He noted that the transfer of residence might be a factor and expects clearer numbers in a month or two.

“Our policy is that no child will be left behind, so anyone who is supposed to be enrolled in basic education should be in school,” he added.

Escullar noted the opening of classes went smoothly.

“It was a success because our learners entered the classroom without any problems. During the first day of class, our learners learned something inside our classrooms,” he told Daily Guardian.

Escullar credited the seamless opening of classes to the coordination between local reinforcement entities and local government units.

Unlike Luzon, which faced significant challenges due to flooding caused by Supertyphoon Carina and the southwest monsoon, all schools in the region commenced classes as scheduled.

Escullar assured that the region has sufficient teaching personnel to maintain the ideal teacher-student ratio as mandated by the DepEd.

“We are dependent on the Department of Budget and Management for the creation of teaching positions, which is handled at the central office level,” he added.

The DepEd-6 official further emphasized that school heads are regularly reminded to ensure that the learning competencies of the students are met before the end of the school year.

Meanwhile, to ensure the safety of learners, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) deployed over 2,000 officers.

There were 917 personnel assigned to police assistance desks, 696 for mobile patrols, and 681 for foot patrols.

Brig. Gen. Jack Wanky, regional director of PRO6, emphasized the importance of the Balik Eskwela security program and urged students to remain vigilant and seek assistance from help desks as necessary.

The Traffic and Transportation Management Office (TTMO) in Iloilo City assessed the traffic situation as “generally manageable.”

Retired Colonel Uldarico Garbanzos, Officer-in-Charge of the TTMO, told Daily Guardian that while there were slow traffic flows during rush hour, prior collaboration with school administrators helped ensure effective traffic management around school zones.

Nearly 400 personnel were deployed in two shifts to manage the traffic, with schemes including separate unloading zones for four-wheel vehicles and public utility jeeps (PUJs), and restrictions on e-bikes and tricycles in front of schools.

The TTMO also implemented proposed parking schemes to facilitate smooth passenger flow.

(This story was updated to correct the decrease in enrolment to 30 percent instead of 70 percent in the first version.)