PHILIPPINES: 2025 budget: Gatchalian assures government education subsidy programs to prioritize poorest students

PHILIPPINES, January 3 - Press Release
January 2, 2025

2025 budget: Gatchalian assures government education subsidy programs to prioritize poorest students

For fiscal year 2025, government subsidy programs for private schools will prioritize the poorest learners in the selection of beneficiaries, Senator Win Gatchalian assured.

The 2025 national budget carried Gatchalian's proposed amendments to the special provision on Government Assistance and Subsidies under the Department of Education (DepEd) budget. Under the special provision, learners from low-income households will be prioritized in the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP) and the Educational Service Contracting (ESC) Program. It also specifies that learners from congested public schools will be given priority in the ESC.

Under the ESC program, the government shoulders the tuition and other fees of excess

students in overcrowded junior public high schools who enter private schools contracted by the DepEd. Under the SHS-VP, qualified SHS learners from participating private and non-DepEd schools receive subsidies in the form of vouchers.

For fiscal year 2025, P12.077 billion will be allotted for the ESC while P27.024 billion will be allocated for the SHS-VP.

Last year, Gatchalian flagged that 68% of ESC recipients for School Year (SY) 2020-2021 were from non-poor households or those with incomes above or equal to the per capita threshold. Fifty-nine percent of ESC recipients from SY 2019-2020 were from non-poor households.

Based on higher-end estimates by the office of the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, the leakage from the ESC program amounts to P8.6 billion. The findings were derived from an analysis conducted by the senator's office using data from the 2020 and 2022 Annual Poverty Indicators Surveys (APIS).

Using the same data from the 2020 and 2022 APIS, Gatchalian's office also found that 70% of SHS-VP beneficiaries for SY 2020-2021 were from non-poor households. During that school year, P7.21 billion or 53% of the P13.69 billion allocated for the SHS-VP was directed to these non-poor learners. For SY 2019-2020, 64% of SHS-VP beneficiaries were from non-poor households. During that year, P7.30 billion or 39% of the P18.76 billion allocated for the SHS-VP went to non-poor learners.

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Mga nangangailangang mag-aaral bibigyang prayoridad sa subsidy programs ng gobyerno --Gatchalian

Sa pagpili ng mga benepisyaryo ng government subsidy programs para sa mga pribadong paaralan ngayong taon, tiniyak ni Senador Win Gatchalian na bibigyang prayoridad ang mga pinakanangangailangang mag-aaral.

Nakasaad sa 2025 national budget ang panukalang amendment ni Gatchalian sa special provision ng Government Assistance and Subsidies sa ilalim ng pondo ng Department of Education (DepEd). Nakasaad sa naturang probisyon na bibigyan ng prayoridad sa Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP) at Educational Service Contracting (ESC) Program ang mga mag-aaral mula sa mga pinakanangangailangan o pinakamahihirap na kabahayan. Nakasaad din sa naturang special provision na bibigyang prayoridad sa ESC ang mga mag-aaral mula sa mga nagsisiksikang pampublikong paaralan.

Sa ilalim ng ESC program, binabayaran ng gobyerno ang tuition at iba pang fees ng mga sobrang mag-aaral sa mga nagsisiksikang junior public high schools na papasok sa mga pribadong paaralang katuwang ng DepEd. Sa ilalim naman ng SHS-VP, nakakatanggap ng tulong pinansyal sa anyo ng mga vouchers ang mga kwalipikadong SHS learners mula sa mga nakikilahok na pribado at non-DepEd schools.

Sa taong ito, P12.077 bilyon ang nakalaan sa ESC, habang P27.024 bilyon ang nakalaan para sa SHS-VP.

Noong nakaraang taon ay pinuna ni Gatchalian ang 68% na mga benepisyaryo ng ESC noong School Year (SY) 2020-2021 na mula sa mga non-poor households. Limampu't siyam na porsyento naman ng mga ESC recipients noong SY 2019-2020 ang nagmula sa mga non-poor households.

Tinataya ng tanggapan ni Gatchalian na umabot sa P8.6 bilyon ang leakage ng ESC program. Batay ito sa pagsusuri ng tanggapan ng senador gamit ang datos ng Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) para sa 2020 at 2022.

Batay sa parehong datos mula sa 2020 at 2022 APIS, natuklasan din ng tanggapan ni Gatchalian na 70% ng SHS-VP beneficiaries noong SY 2020-2021 ay mula sa mga non-poor households. Para sa school year na iyon, P7.21 bilyon o 53% ng P13.69 bilyon na inilaan para sa SHS-VP ang napunta sa mga mag-aaral na hindi naman bahagi ng mga pinakamahihirap na pamilya. Noong SY 2019-2020, 64% ng mga SHS-VP beneficiaries ang nagmula sa mga household ng mga pinakamahihirap na pamilya. Sa taong iyon, P7.30 bilyon o 39% ng P18.76 bilyong inilaan para sa SHS-VP ang napunta sa mga non-poor learners.