Makati City 2nd district Rep. Luis Campos Jr. (Facebook)

A Metro Manila lawmaker says its possible for the students who were dislocated due to the discontinuance of senior high school (SHS) programs in state universities and colleges (SUCs) to shift to private education institutions. 

Makati City 2nd district Rep. Luis Campos Jr., a vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said on Sunday, Jan. 7 that the affected students can avail of tuition subsidy from the national government under the current P5.768-trillion budget. 

“In the 2024 General Appropriations Law, Congress earmarked the sum of P27.8 billion to pay for the tuition of disadvantaged Grades 11 and 12 students enrolled in private secondary schools, or in private universities and colleges offering the SHS program,” Campos said. 

The P27.8 billion for the SHS Voucher Program (SHSVP) provides tuition grants to enable qualified Grade 10 completers, as determined by the Department of Education (DepEd), to enlist for Grades 11 and 12 in private high schools, according to Campos. 

“Assuming SHS students currently enrolled in SUCs cannot be accommodated in DepEd schools in their communities, they can enroll in private schools and the SHSVP can pay for their tuition,” noted the veteran solon. 

The threat of student displacement arose after the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), in a Dec. 18, 2023 memorandum, insisted that SUCs that are still offering the SHS program no longer have the legal authority and the funding to do so. 

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The SHSVP pays for the tuition of underprivileged Grades 11 and 12 students placed in private schools owing to the lack of DepEd schools in their communities, or because existing public schools are already overcrowded. 

“We must stress that private high schools are the government’s partners in improving public access to basic education,” Campos said. 

He said the SHSVP also helps to provide income to private high schools, many of which suffered severe financial difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“We need private high schools to keep on operating viably, especially in communities where we lack public schools,” said the Makati congressman.