Ghost students: DepEd withheld P200 million in vouchers due to 'questionable' claims
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education prevented the release of approximately P200 million in senior high school voucher subsidies for beneficiaries last school year due to "questionable" claims from private schools.
This was revealed by a key DepEd official on Thursday, March 7, during the first House inquiry into the "ghost students" or undocumented beneficiaries of the voucher program.
The senior high school voucher program — launched in 2015 — provides government subsidies directly to private schools for qualified Grade 11 and 12 students who would otherwise be unable to afford private education.
The House basic education committee launched a probe into the program after Education Secretary Sonny Angara announced last month that the department had prevented a "potential defraudment" worth over P52 million by halting payments to 12 private schools allegedly engaged in the "ghost student" scheme.
During the inquiry, lawyer Tara Rama, director of DepEd's government assistance and subsidies Office, told lawmakers that the department's verification system had flagged numerous discrepancies in schools' billing statements.
"For school year 2023 to 2024, around P200 million was not released due to discrepancies," Rama said in mixed English and Filipino. "When the private schools submit their billing statements, we look at the learner's information system first before releasing any payments. If the billing statements did not match the data in our learner's information system, we do not disburse the payments. We withheld that payment."
A total of 55 schools have already been terminated from the senior high school voucher program over three school years, according to data presented at the hearing. These included 22 schools in school year 2021-2022, 32 schools in 2022-2023, and one school in 2023-2024. Another 12 schools are currently under investigation for 2024-2025.
Rama identified four categories of violations that led to schools being terminated from the program: significant numbers of students absent during the surprise verification visits, beneficiaries listed under incorrect school campuses, students not attending classes since the beginning of the semester, and students being billed across multiple schools simultaneously.
"Ghost students refer to beneficiaries that do not have school records or do not attend classes anymore, and unqualified students," Rama explained. "[Some are] unqualified because they're supposed to apply via the voucher application program, but they did not apply. Private schools then categorize them as automatic grantees."
The Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), which co-administers the program with DepEd, admitted during the hearing that they physically verify only 10% of voucher beneficiaries through site visits—a figure that troubled House basic education panel chairperson Rep. Roman Romulo (Pasig City).
House Committee Chairman Roman Romulo expressed concerns about the limited oversight, telling reporters after the hearing, "What we're saying is that these schools were given permits to operate but without proper monitoring afterward, which creates problems with school quality."
"The issue isn't just about accrediting schools but the voucher system program itself," Romulo added. "Shouldn't they be checking if the beneficiaries truly deserve the assistance?"
The committee hearing also surfaced reports of vouchers going toward students who do not need them. Irene Rocha of Parent-Teacher Advocates of the Philippines testified that some schools operate on a first-come, first-served basis.
"In some schools, it's first-come, first-served – the first 100 applicants. Once they apply for the voucher, they get it. Meanwhile, those without means are left at a disadvantage," Rocha said in mixed English and Filipino.
The Teachers' Dignity Coalition added that the voucher system has enabled "fly-by-night" senior high schools with low education standards to proliferate. The group's chairperson, Benjo Basas, said he witnessed this particularly in the CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela) area.
"Nagooffer pa to ng incentives sa public schools, kada isang ulo na mag eenrooll sa kanilang high school," Basas said.
(These schools even offer incentives to public schools, for each student who enrolls in their high schools.)
The current House investigation follows years of similar findings by the Commission on Audit. State auditors previously identified at least 115 cases of students billed multiple times in the same school year in 2016-2017, while a 2018 audit revealed private schools had returned P10.4 million for double-billed grantees.
Rama acknowledged during the hearing that while most schools comply with regulations, "we have a few private schools that are somewhat defiant (may mga kaunting pasaway)."
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