A month before the opening of school year 2025-2026, a graphic circulating on Facebook claims that the Department of Education (DepEd) will no longer accept kindergarten and Grade 11 students, and that 5-year-old children can enroll directly to Grade 1 starting June. This is fake.
The DepEd has not made any announcement abolishing Kinder and Grade 11, which is part of the country’s 12-year basic education system. All incoming elementary students are required to have completed kindergarten.
Uploaded as early as April 27, the bogus graphic bore the text:
ANNOUNCEMENT. NO GRADE 11 & KINDER
> Starting June 2025 DEPED stop accepting K12 (Grade 11)
Diretso college na ang graduate ng grade 10 (Grade 10 graduates go straight to college)
> All 5 years old can accept in Grade 1 (sic) Kahit Hindi Na Dumaan Sa Kinder (even if they don’t go through Kinder)
In a May 14 advisory posted on their official FB page, the DepEd debunked the circulating graphic and called it “fake news.”
Under Republic Act 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, all students in the Philippines are required to undergo 12 years of basic education beginning from kindergarten to Grade 12.
The law also mandates that kindergarten is a prerequisite before any student can enrol in Grade 1.
While the DepEd has announced changes to the elementary, junior high school and senior high school curricula, none of their directives mentioned anything about abolishing a particular grade level.
A law would be required to change the country’s current basic education system and Congress has not passed such a measure.
Posted by FB page PRC Board Online Updates and three other FB users, the bogus graphic received around 2,000 interactions.
VERA Files Fact Check has recently debunked disinformation related to the K-12 program, such as senior high school being optional and the launch of Grade 13.
