BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Department of Education – Division of Negros Occidental reported that a total of 271,771 Negrense students have enrolled for the school year 2022- 2023, as of August 16.
August 22 will be the first time students enrolled in both public and private schools in Negros Occidental will return to school after a two-year suspension of face-to-face classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of enrollees at 271,771 dropped this schoolyear by about 20 percent, compared to 336,970 in school year 2021-2022, DepEd records showed.
Public schools had the most enrollees for school year 2022-2023 with 133,377 students.
For public junior high school there are 82, 410; public senior high school – 36,254; integrated schools – 1,440 and private schools – 18, 290.
While public senior high school enrollees are up by 101.57 percent, other enrollments decreased. Public elementary schools decreased by 76.25 percent, public junior high school – 81.93 percent, integrated schools – 74.27 percent and private schools – 76.78 percent.
Spokesman Ian Arnold Arnaiz reported that all 580 schools under DepEd- Division Negros Occidental are ready to start the school year on Aug. 22, following schemes suggested by DepEd national office, with either limited face-to-face classes or blended learning until October 31.
Arnaiz, however, said that schools that have been heavily affected by typhoons and have more damaged facilities “will have to continue with remote learning.”*
