Following the approval of the proposed substantial increase in the Government Assistance and Subsidies (GAS) programs under its Tier 1 budget, the Department of Education (DepEd), on Thursday, May 24, said they are now better equipped to fulfill their mandate to improve and expand access to quality education for Junior and Senior High Schools.
DepEd, in a press statement, expressed its gratitude to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), as well as the national government, for their “unwavering support” to the Department’s voucher programs, particularly Senior High School (SHS) Voucher and Educational Service Contracting (ESC) under GAS.
“Out of the P626.18 billion approved Tier 1 Level to the DepEd by the DBM, per National Budget Memorandum No. 142 ‘Budget Call for FY 2023,’ SHS VP got approval for P39.33 billion, which covers 1,132,155 voucher beneficiaries for school year 2023-2024. Meanwhile, ESC got an approved P11.05 billion budget which covers 1,031,193 ESC grantees,” said DepEd.
With these approved increases in funding, DepEd assured the public that they will now be able to improve and expand the access to quality education among Junior and Senior High Schools.
“This is through aiding private education institutions by making payments to private schools on their billings filed and claimed in previous years. In addition, the agency is also financially capacitated to make full payments to concerned private schools within one budget year,” added DepEd.
DepEd then vowed to continuously implement its voucher programs “efficiently and effectively.”