The Department of Education (DepEd) will be subsidizing fees of Grade 10 completers from public and private Junior High Schools (JHS) who want to enroll in a (1) private high school, (2) private university or college, (3) state or local university or college, or (4) technical-vocational school, which will offer Senior High School (SHS) starting SY 2016-2017.
The detailed guidelines on the implementation of the SHS Voucher Program (VP) through DepEd Order 46, s. 2015 states that all Grade 10 completers of public JHS, including state universities and colleges (SUCs)/local universities and colleges (LUCs) JHS are qualified voucher recipients (QVR) and will receive the full voucher value. Grade 10 Education Service Contracting (ESC) grantees from ESC participating schools are also QVRs and will be given 80% of the voucher value.
Non-ESC students from private JHS can apply for vouchers subject to an assessment of their socioeconomic status. If deemed qualified, they will also receive 80% of the voucher value.
A qualified voucher recipient who successfully enrolls in a non-DepEd SHS Provider becomes a Voucher Program Beneficiary (VPB). The SHS Voucher Program will only cover two years, regardless of the number of years it takes for the student to finish SHS. Vouchers are only valid if redeemed within the first semester of the school year immediately after the completion of JHS. Voucher payments will be released on a per semester basis to the SHS provider where the VPB is enrolled.
A VPB will face disqualification from participation in the SHS VP if he/she drops out in the middle of the school year; does not re-enroll the following school year (unless the reason for leaving school is due to health reasons and that the period of medical leave is not more than one school year); is retained in the same grade level; transfers to another SHS provider within the school year; and/or transfers to a DepEd SHS provider.
A VPB is allowed to shift to another strand or track after the 1st semester of Grade 11 within the same school or after Grade 11 whether in the same school or to another school.
Application for vouchers shall commence on the second Monday of November, and shall end on the third Friday of January for manual submissions or second Friday of February for online submissions. The Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) shall post the results on its website on the third Friday of March.
Qualified applicants will be given QVR certificates through the Online Voucher Application Portal (OVAP) website (http://ovap.deped.gov.ph). They are required to attend the registration program to be scheduled by the PEAC National Secretariat at selected areas in the regions.
For more information, visit http://www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-46-s-2015. (DepEd)
