After 2 years, DepEd but to launch new tips for SHS voucher program

DepEd is concentrating on to difficulty the brand new tips within the first quarter of the yr

MANILA, Philippines – The Division of Schooling (DepEd) has not launched its new tips for the Senior Excessive Faculty Voucher Program (SHS VP), two years after points hounding this system have been tackled in a Senate listening to.

Underneath the SHS VP, the DepEd will present a monetary subsidy for Grades 11 and 12 learners to attend non-public faculties, decongesting public faculties. The help, starting from P8,750 to P22,500 a yr, comes within the type of vouchers which might be paid on to the learner’s chosen non-public college.

Throughout the Senate primary training committee inquiry on Tuesday, January 20, Senator Win Gatchalian referred to as out DepEd for the delay within the issuance of the brand new tips.

“In my view, hindi seryoso ang DepEd para ayusin itong problema natin sa (DepEd just isn’t critical in fixing our drawback with the) voucher program,” mentioned Gatchalian who had led inquiries in regards to the points hounding the SHS VP in 2024, when he chaired the Senate primary training training committee.

“Ganoon ba kabagal ang DepEd para ayusin ang problemang matagal nang pinag-uusapan? These issues aren’t new,” he added.

(Is DepEd that sluggish in fixing an issue that’s been mentioned for a very long time?)

DepEd is concentrating on to difficulty the brand new tips within the first quarter of the yr.

Extra points

Throughout the 2024 Senate listening to, the DepEd had dedicated to launch new tips to handle a number of points together with the “ghost” college students scheme, through which a college claims subsidy for a non-existent scholar.

On the Tuesday listening to, Gatchalian cited knowledge from the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey that 67% of SHS VP beneficiaries from college yr 2024-2025 aren’t thought-about poor.

He additionally famous that there are beneficiaries who’re enrolled in non-public faculties with a tuition charge of not less than P100,000, primarily based on Fee on Audit findings.

Since February 2023, DepEd has terminated 55 faculties from the SHS VP resulting from questionable claims.

Gatchalian mentioned the problems could possibly be addressed with a “correct program design” which features a mechanism that may guarantee high quality of training companies.

In response, DepEd Director for Finance Tara Rama mentioned it has been troublesome for the division to difficulty tips “sweepingly.”

“It’s on finalization…. Now we have to run it with them [private schools] ‘yung (the) tips. We additionally need to evaluate — two [DepEd] places of work must evaluate it,” Rama mentioned.

Whereas the crafting of recent tips remains to be underway, Rama mentioned the DepEd and Non-public Schooling Help Committee (PEAC) have been implementing a five-layer validation mechanism beginning college yr 2024-2025 to make sure that this system is not going to be abused.

The 5 layers are:

• Validation of learners previous to billing creation within the Learner Data System (LIS) by Utility Programming Interface integration
• Validation of billed learners within the LIS by Authorities Help and Subsidies Service
• PEAC post-audit monitoring carried out
• Validation by DepEd regional places of work and faculties division places of work
• PEAC validation of SHS VP billings for the second semester

Learners from non-congested faculties accepted

On the listening to, Senators additionally discovered that even college students from faculties that aren’t congested are accepted within the SHS VP Program.

Senator Raffy Tulfo requested: “Bakit ‘nyo tatanggapin ‘yung mga estudyante na mag-apply sa inyo going to personal college eh there’s no congestion? ‘Di ba ang thought is to decongest public faculties na maraming estudyante?”

(Why would you settle for college students who utilized to go to personal faculties if their college just isn’t congested? Isn’t the concept behind this system to decongest public faculties with many college students?)

Rama replied, “Puwedeng wala rin pong mismong public faculties na close to sa location nila.” (It might be that there are not any precise public faculties close to their location.)

Non-public primary training voucher help invoice

Throughout the dialogue on the payments in search of voucher help in primary training, or from kindergarten to SHS, the Second Congressional Fee on Schooling (EDCOM 2) urged the DepEd to make sure strategic concentrating on to decongest lecture rooms.

Based mostly on the evaluation carried out by the Schooling Middle for AI Analysis, there are about 536,057 aisle elementary college students in public faculties in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Northern Mindanao — probably the most congested areas. Aisle college students discuss with those that should not have a everlasting seat or classroom resulting from lack of amenities.

In non-public faculties in the identical areas, there are 136,573 accessible seats for elementary college students.

EDCOM 2 Govt Director Karol Mark Yee mentioned if all non-public faculties are thought-about underneath the proposed invoice, as much as 22.5% or 121,036 of scholars might be accommodated. If solely faculties providing instructional service contracting (ESC) will solely be thought-about, solely 9.4% or 50,399 of scholars might be accommodated.

ESC is a DepEd partnership program through which “extra capacities of licensed non-public junior excessive faculties are ‘contracted’ by slot allocations for college kids who would in any other case have gone to public faculties.”

“It will be important that plans for voucher enlargement be formulated strategically alongside — and never distinct — from efforts on classroom development, restore, and leasing, presently being developed by DepEd,” Yee mentioned.

“Information exhibits that voucher enlargement can present pressing aid in probably the most congested areas, particularly in faculties with double, triple and multishifts.” – Rappler.com