DepEd opens early registration on Jan 28 

By Hazel Gloria 

CEBU CITY, January 27 (PIA) --- The Department of Education (DepEd) declared January 28, 2012 as “Early Registration Day” for the school year 2012-2013 in all public elementary schools nationwide. 

The early registration seeks to reach out to all five year-old children to enroll in kindergarten and for six year-olds to enlist for Grade 1. 

In last year's early registration it only covered the kindergarten that started the K-12 basic education reform program as well as the Grade 1 pupils and first year high school students. 

However this year, DepEd expanded the target for early registration including the Out-of-School-Youth (OSY) and Out-of-School Children (OSC) and even children and youth with learning difficulties. 

According to DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro, the early registration aims to keep track of OSC and OSY with disabilities whose ages range from five to 18 across grade levels and provide them with appropriate education intervention. 

“The state mandates that all Filipinos with or without learning disabilities must have access to education and the early registration aims to count them in,” Luistro explained.(mbcn/hfg/PIA7)