P200-M SHS subsidies withheld in 2024 due to questionable claims, DepEd says
AROUND P200 million in government subsidies were withheld last year due to “questionable” claims from some private schools for the voucher program for senior high school (SHS) students, an Education department official said on Thursday.
“For school year 2023 to 2024, around P200 million was not released due to discrepancies,” Department of Education (DepEd) project manager Tara C. Rama told a House of Representatives panel in Filipino.
“When private schools submit their billing statements, we process them through the learner’s information system before making any payments. If the billing statements do not match the data in our learner’s information system, the funds are not disbursed,” she added.
Ms. Rama was speaking before the House Committee of Basic Education, which launched an investigation into alleged “ghost students that plague DepEd’s SHS voucher program.
The program aims to subsidize the education of SHS students enrolled in private schools, with the subsidy being provided directly to participating schools.
In mid-February, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara halted the release of close to P52 million in supposed private school subsidies.
Ghost students refer to beneficiaries that do not have school records or do not attend classes anymore, and unqualified students, said Ms. Rama.
“[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.”
Only high school graduates of government schools and private schools participating in the Education Service Contracting program are automatically qualified for DepEd’s SHS voucher assistance, according to its website.
Ms. Rama said they had terminated 55 schools so far from participating in the subsidy program, with 12 schools under investigation this year.
“For school year 2021 to 2022, a total of 22 schools were terminated. For the 2022 to 2023 school year, an additional 32 schools were terminated. Moving into school year 2023 to 2024, one school has already been terminated, while another 12 are currently under investigation,” she said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
