The Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Thursday that opening of classes for the school year (SY) 2023-2024 in all public schools will be on August 29.

Private schools may opt to open their classes from the first Monday of June, but not later than the last day of August this year under Republic Act 11480, the DepEd said.

DepEd Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Francis Cesar Bringas meanwhile said they still have to gather data on the exact number of enrollees in the coming school year, but noted that students in certain grade levels were already pre-registered.

“In the public schools, meron tayong (we have) early registration for kinder, grade 1, grade 7, and grade 11. All other grades (are) automatically enrolled for next school year. Two weeks before opening, these learners only need to confirm their enrollment in the same school for the school to properly plan class programs/sectioning, and others,” Bringas told reporters through a Viber message.

“During this time, malalaman na rin kung may mga (we will know if there are) transferees so our BEIS (Basic Education Information System) is properly updated for the beginning of school year (BOSY) data,” he added.

Under the DepEd Department Order No. 10 series of 2023 issued last May 9, all incoming learners enrolling in Kindergarten and Grades 1, 7, and 11 in all public elementary and secondary schools shall pre-register or participate in the early registration to allow DepEd to make the necessary preparations and adjustments of plans for the incoming SY 2023-2024.

“While incoming Grades 2-6, 8-10, and 12 learners from public schools are considered pre-registered, thus they do not need to participate in the early registration. However, private schools are encouraged to conduct their respective early registration activities in the same timeframe,” the Order read. (PNA)