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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
February 20, 2025 | 6:08pm
Students return to their respective schools as in-person classes in Marikina City resume on March 9, 2023.
Photo by Walter Bollozos / The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines — The chairperson of the Senate basic education committee is pushing for legislation that would bar underperforming private schools from receiving government voucher subsidies.
This comes amid the Department of Education (DepEd)'s ongoing investigation into 12 unnamed private schools that allegedly claimed subsidies for non-existent or so-called "ghost" students under the senior high school voucher program.
EXPLAINER: Explainer: The 'ghost students' in DepEd's voucher program
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian told reporters on Thursday, February 20 that Senate Bill 2911 would tighten requirements for DepEd's voucher program, noting that current rules allow even schools with failing students to participate.
"For example, dapat tingnan ang quality ng school, kasi ngayon, kahit ang mga bulok na school ay pwedeng kumuha ng voucher," Gatchalian said.
(For example, the quality of schools should be taken into account because, right now, even low-performing schools can qualify for vouchers.)
Under Senate Bill 2911, which was filed January, the proposed amendments to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act would expand the criteria for assistance beyond just tuition fees and students' financial needs.
Schools would be evaluated based on classroom congestion rates, overall performance, and their teachers' performance, among others.
"We're tightening the requirements so that only quality schools with proper accreditation policies can participate," Gatchalian added.
Gatchalian said his committee had previously investigated the issue of ghost students in the voucher program last year.
"Last year, we found schools billing the government despite having no actual students," he said. "This is an ongoing problem, and it's good that Secretary Sonny Angara is investigating this to clean up the list of schools."
On Wednesday, February 19, Angara said the department would explore technology-based solutions to strengthen its monitoring of voucher beneficiaries, acknowledging that physical inspections alone cannot cover the thousands of participating schools nationwide. — Cristina Chi
