Due to the low turnout of enrollment in private schools, Senator Win Gatchalian underscored the need for the government to immediately give them assistance. He said enrollment in these institutions reached only 24.3 percent from last year’s 4 million.
Out of 20,220,507 learners enrolled nationwide as of July 15, Gatchalian said only 1,050,437 are enrolled in private schools.
The Department of Education also reported that 323,524 learners from private schools, state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges have moved to public schools. DepEd clarified earlier that enrollment is still ongoing in some private institutions.
According to Gatchalian, ensuring the continued implementation of government subsidy programs, including the Senior High School Voucher Program and the Education Service Contracting (ESC) will help learners to continue their education while giving relief to private schools, especially those who are struggling to sustain operations because of lockdown measures and postponed enrollment.
The SHS VP is a program of financial assistance wherein subsidies in the form of vouchers are provided to qualified SHS learners from private or non-DepEd schools.
The ESC, on the other hand, utilizes the excess capacities of certified private junior high schools by allocating slots to students who would have gone to public schools. The slots come with subsidies called ESC grants.
Gatchalian added that there should be enough allocations for these programs under the 2021 budget so as not to reduce the number of beneficiaries as it could lead to a potential spike in dropouts.
