DepEd adopts voucher system to help high school students

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) has developed a new mechanism in providing financial assistance to incoming senior high school students under the K to 12 program, officials said yesterday.

The agency will implement a voucher system, where the government issues a coupon directly to students to enable them to enroll in eligible private educational institutions or non-DepEd public schools under a full or partial tuition subsidy, DepEd Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francis Varela said.

“The students will decide. Those who want to spend more, they can go to these (private) schools. Those who have the capacity to spend a little more and receive the advantage will decide also,” Varela said.

“The beauty of the arrangement is the decision will be made by the students and their families, and the government in a way empowers them by giving them these vouchers,” he added.

Varela, however, did not disclose the amount to be provided to students under the new scheme.

K to 12 means Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education.

The senior high school (Grades 11 and 12) will be fully implemented in school year 2016-2017.

The additional two years in high school will serve as specialization period for high school students whether in vocational skills, music, the arts or sports.

The K to 12 program gives high school graduates the option to pursue jobs with a basic education diploma or proceed to college, the DepEd said.

Under the implementing rules and regulations of the K to 12 Law, which were signed last week, the assistance to students should not exceed the DepEd’s determined cost of education per student in the public school system.

“Currently, it is computed at P14,000 (DepEd tuition subsidy to students in private schools),” Education Secretary Armin Luistro said in a previous interview.

Under Republic Act 8545 or the Expanded Government Assistance for Students and Teachers in Private Education Act or E-GASTPE, DepEd provides P10,000 per student in the National Capital Region and P6,500 elsewhere.

Varela said the vouchers would be given before the students finish Grade 10 or fourth year high school by March 2015.