Enrollment in private schools low; nearly 900 schools closed

St Gabriel Academy of Parañaque, 1 of nearly 900 private schools that stopped operating last school year, was closed down due to the pandemic.

Currently, only the Pasay branch of the school operates, and only pre-school students are being taught.

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The school also intensifies teacher training and invests in distance learning equipment to encourage parents to enroll their children here.

“Siguro nung napagbuti namin iyong first year, nagandahan iyong mga parents, na-satisfy sila. Kaya ngayon, nag-double iyong aming enrollees… from 17, nagnig 37 ngayon,” said Raquel Menes, president of the school.

Private school organizations hope to increase their enrollment this school year.

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According to Department of Education (DepEd) data in October, only 2.17 million enrolled in private schools compared to 4.3 million in the 2019-2020 School Year.

The shift of students from private school to public school and the state of the economy are the visible reasons for the decline in enrollment.

“Ang inuuna ng mga parents natin ay, of course, food. And then, iyong health dahil takot sa COVID. Pangatlo pa lang ang education,” said Federation of Associations of Private School Administrators President Eleazardo Kasilag.

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He said private schools are now focused on recovery and innovation.

Enrollment in private schools low; nearly 900 schools closed

They say they are doing everything possible to continue their vocation to teach.

“Honestly, we’re left on our own… iyong iba sa amin, mayroong pinapasok na ibang raket,” said Kasilag.

“Ang problem lang talaga is sustainability of the operations… ang problem is hindi ma-maximize iyong utilization, halos walang enrollment, nanganganib iyong continuity,” said Joseph Noel Estrada, managing director of Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines.

“We really need focus from our government on education naman. This time, sana iyong recovery efforts eh tingnan din iyong education talaga,” Estrada added.

DepEd is aware of the condition of private schools that are among their priorities.

DepEd also ensured that subsidies such as the Senior High School Voucher Program and Educational Service Contracting would continue. DepEd will cover part of the tuition of students who will transfer from public to private school.

Like public schools, distance learning is still the way of teaching in private schools this year.

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