Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has filed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2911 to expand government assistance to private schools.
SBN 2911 seeks to amend the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act (GASTPE), integrating all basic education levels, including kindergarten to Grade 6.
Government assistance to private education shall include learners from kindergarten to Grade 6, the proposed measure stated.
It also proposes a uniform implementation of tuition subsidy through a voucher system, currently used in the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP).
Under the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, the SHS-VP was introduced to address classroom shortages in public schools caused by the addition of Grades 11 and 12. The program provides financial aid via vouchers to qualified senior high school learners in participating private schools.
Another form of assistance under GASTPE is the Educational Service Contracting (ESC) program, which grants subsidies to qualified junior high school students. ESC allocates slots in certified private schools to help decongest public schools.
However, findings from a 2023 Senate inquiry led by Gatchalian revealed that ESC failed to achieve this goal and did not adequately prioritize poor but deserving students.
Gatchalian recommends discontinuing the ESC in favor of a voucher-based system, which he argues is simpler, more cost-effective, and encourages competition among private schools to improve education quality while keeping fees affordable.
SBN 2911 also outlines criteria for assistance, including classroom congestion, a private school’s performance, and tuition fees. It prioritizes low-income learners and Alternative Learning System completers.
To ensure quality education for grantees, the Department of Education will establish standards for accrediting and monitoring recipient schools.IMT
