The Department of Education (DepEd) regional office here is stepping up its information drive to encourage more learners in Eastern Visayas to enroll in public schools for this academic year before Aug. 8.

DepEd Eastern Visayas regional information officer Jasmin Calzita said they are optimistic about adding more enrollees from the 1,106,330 registered in elementary, junior high school, and senior high school campuses in the region as of July 11, 2025.

“We have disseminated the enrollment schedule to all schools for them to inform parents and students. Late enrollees are typically accepted if they can attend at least 80 percent of the school days and meet the quarterly requirements,” Calzita said in a phone interview.

The DepEd has asked schools to offer support to help late enrollees get on track.

Calzita said enrollment in public school is free, and a learner is only required to submit a copy of their certificate of live birth once from elementary to senior high school.

For those without a certificate of live birth, schools also accept other proof of identity, such as a government-issued identification (ID) card, barangay certificate, baptismal certificate, marriage certificate, PhilHealth ID, persons with disability ID, and certificate of founding issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The education department has offered three enrollment options: in-person; use of short messaging services, electronic mail, or Facebook messaging; and dropbox enrollment.

Of the 1,106,330 enrolled students in 4,254 public schools in Eastern Visayas as of July 11, some 79,652 are kindergarten, 528,314 are elementary, 344,464 are junior high school, and 153,900 are senior high school.

In the past school year, the DepEd listed 1,172,200 enrollees, slightly lower than the 1,216,112 logged a year earlier. (PNA)