A substantial number of personal schools have yet to receive their Educational Service Contracting (ESC) subsidies and their students’ Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP), in response to Catholic school groups.
“We humbly urge the concerned agencies to facilitate the prompt processing and release of the pending subsidies and voucher program assistance,” the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) and the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Catholic Education (ECCE) said in a joint statement on Friday.
The groups noted that amongst the colleges affected are “small and financially vulnerable institutions”, which consider the federal government subsidies and voucher program assistance essential in sustaining their operations amid rising electricity prices.
“A lot of these schools serve low-income communities and proceed to rely heavily on government assistance programs as a way to keep education accessible, maintain personnel, and meet operational obligations,” the groups said in a press release on Friday.
“The continued delay has placed serious strain on school funds at a time when institutions are already preparing for the following academic 12 months,” they added.
The pending subsidies also impact the timely payment of salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff, the settlement of utilities and contractual obligations, and the procurement of instructional materials.
“The financial assistance of the federal government is a powerful lifeline that allows them to proceed participating within the shared national responsibility of delivering education,” the groups said.
Data from the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) showed that over 3,600 institutions nationwide are ESC-participating schools.
Meanwhile, over 4,500 schools are included within the SHS-VP Alphalist.
The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier this month announced the expansion of personal school subsidies under the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE) program.
The expansion is about to learn over 2.4 million financially challenged learners enrolled in private schools. Of which, around 990,000 junior highschool students can be covered under the ESC program, while 1.47 million SHS students will profit from the SHS-VP.— Almira Louise S. Martinez