Philippines
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Expansion of gov't subsidies for private schools eyed to cover Kindergarten, Grade 6 students
Expansion of gov't subsidies for private schools eyed to cover Kindergarten, Grade 6 students
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he will file a bill to expand the coverage of government assistance and subsidies to private schools to include students from kindergarten to Grade 6.
Currently, Gatchalian said the subsidies under Republic Act No. 8545 or the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act, are being provided only to senior high schools.
If amended the bill will expand the application of the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) to include kindergarten to Grade 6, he said.
“We have to innovate in terms of how to address basic concerns such as lack of classrooms, teachers, and books for our learners. One of the things that we are going to expand is the voucher program of the basic education system,” said Gatchalian in a statement.
The Senate Committee on Basic Education chief is referring to the Senior High School-Voucher Program (SHS-VP) which extends financial assistance to qualified SHS learners from participating private or non-DepEd schools. Under the program, students receive subsidies in the form of vouchers.
Gatchalian also mentioned the Educational Service Contracting (ESC) for junior high school students which utilizes the excess capacities of certified private junior high schools by allocating slots to students who would have gone to public schools. Subsidies from these slots are called ESC grants.
Gatchalian said he finds it necessary to expand the voucher program can help private schools recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For School Year 2020-2021, there were 3.2 million learners enrolled in private schools, the equivalent of only 14% of total enrollment in basic education.
But Gatchalian said that in order to make the government’s subsidy program for students to be efficient, the schools should adopt the voucher system.
Private schools participating in the voucher program should also be screened for quality, he said.
“There should be an aspect on quality too, so that private schools are incentivized to raise their quality. On top of that, they will have an opportunity to service our learners through the vouchers that the government will give,” the lawmaker stressed.