Tacloban: The Department of Education (DepEd) regional office in Eastern Visayas is intensifying its efforts to encourage more learners to enroll in public schools for the upcoming academic year before the deadline on August 8. The initiative aims to boost student numbers beyond the 1,106,330 enrollees recorded across elementary, junior high, and senior high schools in the region as of July 11, 2025.

According to Philippines News Agency, DepEd Eastern Visayas regional information officer Jasmin Calzita expressed optimism about the enrollment drive. She highlighted that schools have been instructed to communicate the enrollment schedule to parents and students proactively. In an effort to accommodate more students, the department allows late enrollees to join if they can attend a minimum of 80 percent of the school days and fulfill the quarterly academic requirements.

Calzita emphasized that enrollment in public schools remains free, requiring students to submit a copy of their certificate of live birth only once from elementary through senior high school. For students without this document, other forms of identification, such as a government-issued ID card, barangay certificate, baptismal certificate, or PhilHealth ID, are also accepted.

The regional education department has provided three methods for enrollment: in-person registration, use of electronic communication like SMS, email, or Facebook messaging, and dropbox enrollment. As of July 11, the enrollment figures in Eastern Visayas' 4,254 public schools include 79,652 kindergarteners, 528,314 elementary students, 344,464 junior high school students, and 153,900 senior high school students.

In previous years, the DepEd recorded 1,172,200 enrollees, a slight decline from the 1,216,112 students registered the year before, underscoring the importance of the current enrollment campaign.