"This legislation provides a pragmatic solution to public school constraints while giving families more equitable access to quality schooling," Angara said.
The revised E-GASTPE framework, issued under DepEd Order No. 11, consolidated the Educational Service Contracting, Senior High School Voucher Program and Teachers' Salary Subsidy into a unified system for government assistance to private education.
The expanded voucher program is intended to accommodate qualified learners in areas where public schools are overcrowded or where access to public schools is limited, allowing them to enroll in participating private schools.
The law also broadens the pool of potential beneficiaries to include qualified learners from middle-income households, in addition to those from lower-income families.
For the initial expansion covering Kindergarten to Grade 6, DepEd is proposing P4.34 billion for School Year 2027-2028. The program is expected to cover more than 292,000 elementary learners in 2,632 participating private schools, according to the department.
The proposed allocation includes P559 million for 41,717 Kindergarten learners and P559.69 million for each grade level from Grade 1 to Grade 6.
Another P427.8 million is proposed for the Teachers' Salary Subsidy, which would cover 17,825 qualified private-school teachers. The subsidy has been raised to P24,000 annually from P18,000 under the revised E-GASTPE rules.
DepEd said it would also apply a five-layer billing validation system to check subsidy claims and guard against ghost beneficiaries and other improper payments.
The voucher law imposes additional penalties for fraudulent claims, including possible prosecution for estafa under the Revised Penal Code, fines of up to P500,000 and restitution of improperly obtained funds.
The creation of a Bureau of Private Education is expected to provide a dedicated unit within DepEd for overseeing private basic education and the government's assistance programs for participating schools.
