The Department of Education (DepEd) thanked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) following the approval of the proposed substantial increase in the Government Assistance and Subsidies programs—Senior High School Voucher and Educational Service Contracting (ESC) under its Tier 1 budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2023.
“DepEd expresses its gratitude to the DBM and the national government for their unwavering support of the voucher programs under GAS.
The Department affirms its commitment in continuously implementing its voucher program efficiently and effectively,” DepEd said in a news statement on Tuesday.
Out of the P626.18 billion approved Tier 1 Level to the DepEd by the DBM, per National Budget Memorandum No. 142, “Budget Call for FY 2023,” SHS VP got approval for P39.33 billion, which covers 1,132,155 voucher program beneficiaries (VPBs) for School Year (SY) 2023-2024.
Meanwhile, ESC got an approved P11.05-billion budget that covers 1,031,193 ESC grantees for SY 2023-2024.
With this substantial increase for SHS VP for 2023, the DepEd said that they are now better equipped to fulfill its mandate to improve and expand access to quality education for Junior and Senior High Schools under ESC and SHS VP respectively.
This is through aiding private education institutions by making payments to private schools on their billings filed and claimed in previous years.
In addition, the agency is also financially capacitated to make full payments to concerned private schools within one budget year.