Issuance of Learner Reference Number to Learners from Schools Without a Permit to Operate

The Department of Education – Central Office, through the Office of the Undersecretary for Planning, Human Resource and Organizational Development, has issued a Memorandum dated April 23, 2021, regarding the issuance of Learner Reference Number to Learners from Schools without a permit to operate and those affected by DepEd Order No. 20, s. 2018.

Issuance of Learner Reference Number to Learners from Schools Without a Permit to Operate and those affected by DepEd Order No. 20, s. 2018

This concerns learners from private schools without a permit to operate and have temporarily enrolled in the formal school system this SY 2020-2021. As per DepEd Order No. 23, s. 2019, the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) shall be administered to these learners to validate the grade level/s that they have completed from the school without a permit through the Schools Division Offices (SDOs) and Regional Offices. The PEPT shall be conducted at their respective testing centers under the SDOs by the Bureau of Education Assessment, this Department.

However, the administration of the PEPT on-site, most especially to learners below 18 years old, is still on hold as per IATF-EID rules and guidelines. These learners are already progressing academically in their respective schools this school year, but have not been issued their Learner Reference Number (LRN) because of their unvalidated grade level/s. To prevent undue stress on parents and learners and to resolve the Learner Information System (LIS) issues on them, the following guidelines are recommended in place of the PEPT:

1. The administration of the PEPT for grade level validation purposes shall be suspended for SY 2020-2021, and until such time that the guidelines on community quarantine do not impose age restrictions.
2. The learners should be accepted by/enrolled in a public school or private school with a permit to operate in SY 2020-2021.
3. For Kindergarten learners, they should have met the cut-off age requirement for enrolment per DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016 as amended by DepEd Order No. 20, s. 2018, which is as follows:

“For schools commencing their school year beyond June, the requirement that Kindergarten learners should be five (5) years old by June 1 and the extension period ending on August 31 shall be adjusted. For schools commencing their school year in July, Kindergarten learners should be five (5) years old by July 1 and the extension period shall be until September 30. For schools commencing their school year in August, Kindergarten learners should be five (5) years old by August 1 and the extension period shall be until October 31.”

4. For SY 2020-2021, both incoming Kindergarten and Grade 1 learners shall strictly comply with the policy as stated under Item VI.15.A of the enclosure to DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016, as amended by DepEd Order No. 20, s. 2018.
5. Only those who have complied with the age requirements shall be considered in this issuance.
6. These learners should complete, without failed subjects, the next higher grade level that they have enrolled in the accepting school.
7. Their final passing grades shall suffice as validation of their previous lower grade level/s from schools without a permit to operate in place of the PEPT.
8. Once all the requirements are met, the scholastic records of learners from schools without a permit shall be considered valid and may be used in encoding their grades in the LIS.
9. This condition shall apply as long as they have met all the other entry and qualification requirements of the accepting school.
10. Given the conditions above, these learners shall be provided with their respective LRNs because they have met the expected learning competencies and skills for the higher grade level as evidently supported by their final passing grades in the accepting school.
11. The Planning Service, in coordination with the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS), shall ensure that the system is ready for the issuance of LRN to these learners once the schools have reported to the SDOs the learners’ favorable status for SY 2020-2021.
12. Likewise, the Planning Officers shall be instructed on how to support the initiative in the LIS.

Immediate dissemination of this memorandum is desired.

DepEd Memorandum DM-OUCI-2021-127

References:

DepEd Order No. 23, s. 2019, “Additional Provisions to Section 6: Grade Level Placement Assessment of DepEd Order No. 55, s. 2016 (Policy Guidelines on the National Assessment of Student Learning for the K to 12 Basic Education Program)”

DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016, “Omnibus Policy on Kindergarten Education”

DepEd Order No. 20, s. 2018, “Amendment to DepEd Order 47, s. 2016“

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