The Department of Education (DepEd) has issued the enclosed Revised Basic Education Enrollment Policy for School Year (SY) 2025-2026 and the subsequent SYs thereafter, aiming to establish a more efficient and inclusive enrollment process in public and private schools and Alternative Learning System (ALS) community learning centers (CLCs). This new directive, DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025, which repeals DepEd Order No. 03, s. 2018, took effect upon its approval, issuance, and 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

The Order aims to provide the standards and guidelines for enrollment in basic education, ensuring that all types of learners, whether school-age, out-of-school children, youth, and adults (OSCYA), shall be accepted in any basic education institution for formal or nonformal education nationwide upon presentation of the minimum documentary requirements.

According to DepEd, the revision addresses previous implementation and policy issues that have been plaguing the enrollment process, specifically issues with the collection and management of enrollment data, compromising the protection of learners’ personal information, and issues with the documentary requirements. These problems ranged from learners not being registered after birth, learners losing their school records, schools losing learner documentary requirements due to disasters destroying the schools, and returning learners with a substantial gap in their educational history.

The revised policy aligns enrollment processes and requirements with pertinent laws, including the Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11909, otherwise known as the “Permanent Validity of the Certificates of Live Birth, Death, and Marriage Act”; R.A. No. 11510, otherwise known as the “Alternative Learning Systems Act”; and R.A. No. 10173, otherwise known as the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”. Thus, this Order is issued to consolidate the various issuances on enrollment and institutionalize a basic education enrollment process to reinforce access to quality basic education.

Under the new guidelines, basic documentary requirements are allowed for submission for enrollment in any public schools, and Alternative Learning System (ALS) community learning centers (CLCs), and in DepEd-recognized private schools, including state and local universities and colleges (SUCs/LUCs) offering basic education. Private schools and SUCs/LUCs shall satisfy other conditions that these institutions may require for admission.

The Order provides specific guidance on early registration, which is conducted from the last Saturday of January to the last Friday of February of each year or in a schedule determined by the Department. This pre-registration applies to incoming Kindergarten, Grades 1, 7, and 11, including transferees to public schools and ALS learners for the first time. It helps schools in planning and resource allocation by demonstrating new entrants’ projection, though participation in early registration does not guarantee official enrollment. Early registration campaigns will specifically target school-age learners, and OSCYA who may not be aware of the registration schedule due to a lack or absence of information, including vulnerable groups such as learners living with disability, those living in an off-grid community or barangay without a school, displaced due to natural disaster, and out-of-school individuals interested in going back to school.

The policy emphasizes that although documents shall be required for presentation to early register learners, these documents are not subject to collection and are only for verification purposes. Eligibility considerations and means of verification are detailed for various levels, including Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 7, Grade 11, Balik-Aral learners, Special Needs Education Program (SNED) learners, and those in Basic Literacy Program (BLP) and Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Programs.

DepEd also reiterates its “no collection of fees” policy for registration and enrollment activities in public schools, in accordance with existing rules and R.A. No. 10173. All early registration data gathered shall be encoded in the Early Registration Facility in the Learner Information System (LIS), and schools may use this data for planning for the incoming school year in determining the class scheduling, teacher assignment, classroom assignments, etc..