The Department of Education (DepEd) has recorded 1.037 million enrolled learners across all school divisions in Western Visayas as of yesterday, with enrollment still ongoing for late registrants.

“This over one million is composed of private schools, public schools, and state and local universities offering basic education. The enrollment for the School Year 2025-2026 is at 93.90 percent compared with last year’s turnout,” DepEd-6 (Western Visayas) information officer Hernani Escullar, Jr. said in an interview yesterday.

The highest learners came from Iloilo province, including Passi City with 453,560; followed by Capiz, including Roxas City, with 158,623; Antique with 145,146; Aklan with 136,555; and Guimaras with 42,576.

Escullar said public and some private schools are still accepting late registrants, and the total number is expected to rise.

“This is just a quick count — schools are reporting the number of basic education enrollment forms they’ve received on a given day. Once the quick count is completed, they’ll encode the data into the Learner Information System, which will serve as the official enrollment figure,” he said.

Escullar also urged parents who have not yet enrolled their children to coordinate with school personnel.

He noted that enrollment remains accessible even without a birth certificate at the time of registration.

“Schools only require any document that reflects the basic data of the child. The PSA birth certificate may be submitted at the end of the school year,” he said.

To help late enrollees catch up, teachers are required to implement a catch-up learning plan to ensure learners meet their academic requirements. (PNA)