Education Secretary Sonny Angara said that 98 percent of schools all over the country opened on Monday following the onslaught of the southwest monsoon and Typhoon “Carina”.

In an interview with reporters, Angara said the percentage of schools that have postponed their opening did not “ even reached two percent of the whole country”. “That means 98 percent of schools have opened,” he said.

Based on data from DepEd, 19,870,53 students nationwide enrolled for the school year 2024 to 2025 as of 7:30 am.

Angara said certain areas have different schedules for starting their classes, including Malabon which has set its opening on Wednesday, as well as Marikina and Valenzuela which will begin classes on August 5.

“They have their own set dates of opening depending on the damage sustained by the school,” Angara said.

Angara said enrolment is still ongoing. He also announced that the chalk allowance for teachers will be released soon and this year it will be tax-free.

Calabarzon recorded the highest number of learners with 2,811,458, followed by Central Luzon with 2,216,637, and National Capital Region with 2,185,237. Jaspearl Tan/DMS