House committee to discuss expanding gov’t aid program for private ed students

A House committee on Wednesday formed a technical working group to discuss the substitute bill seeking to expand the application of government assistance to students in private basic education.

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro made the motion.

“I move to form a technical working group to discuss further the bill on hand to be chaired by Representative Hernandez,” Castro said during the meeting of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture.

The motion was seconded by Agusan Del Norte Representative Joboy Aquino.

The substitute bill includes House bills 928 and 1723, which seek to amend the Expanded  Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act (E-GASTPE) by including kindergarten and elementary students.

The E-GASTPE currently only covers high school students and teachers.

Committee chairman Roman Romulo earlier said that the bill will not be passed during the meeting after Castro said she has yet to receive data from the Private Education Assistance Committee and the Department of Education.

“We assure the Honorable Castro that we will not approve it this morning. We will set it on the next meeting,” Romulo said.

Meanwhile, Kabayan Partylist Representative Ron Salo said he recently filed House Bill 5589, which has the same purpose.

“Most of the enhancements in my proposed measure are discussed a while ago… specifically these are on criteria assistance, on student choice, quality assurance, basic education program,” Salo said.

“In a nutshell, those are the primary items that are included in my proposed measure and I really hope that these particular matters will be considered in the consolidated substitute bill,” he later added. — BM, GMA News