DepEd terminates 55 private schools from SHS voucher program

The Department of Education (DepEd) has terminated 55 private schools from its Senior High School (SHS) Voucher Program due to questionable claims, an official said Thursday.

DepEd Project Manager III Tara Rama, during a House Committee on Basic Education and Culture hearing, said a total of 55 private schools were removed from the program since February 2021 due to discrepancies in their billing information and the learners information system (LIS).

"We started terminating, we had 22 schools for SY 2021-2022. In February 2023, we terminated another 32 schools for SY 2022-2023… For 2023-2024, we already have one terminated and under investigation po ang another 12," Rama said.

Asked on how much vouchers were left to waste, Rama said the DepEd withheld at least P200 million in funding.

"Starting SY 2023-2024, ito 'yung ginawa natin sa Department of Education—when the private schools submit their billing statements, before natin binabayaran, dinadaan natin sa LIS. Kapag ang billing statement ay 'di tumugma sa LIS, 'di natin siya dinisburse. Hinold natin ang payment," she said.

(Starting SY 2023-2024, the DepEd started checking the billing statements of the private schools against the LIS before payments are made. If there are discrepancies between their billing statements and LIS, the funds are not disbursed. Payments are put on hold.)

"For SY 2023-2024, around P200 million ang 'di natin ni-release kasi may discrepancy (For SY 2023-2024, we withheld about P200 million because of discrepancies)," she added.

According to Rama, some private schools have also made claims for students who enrolled in their respective institutions but later transferred to public schools.

"May ganu'ng mga situations. Nationwide, 'yun ang na-hold because of discrepancy. We cannot say for sure na ito ay ghost students lahat," said Rama.

(There are such situations nationwide wherein funds were withheld because of discrepancies. We cannot say for sure if all of them were ghost students.)

In February, House Assistant Majority Leader Jil Bongalon called for a congressional inquiry into the alleged existence of "ghost beneficiaries” of SHS vouchers.

This developed after the DepEd said "ghost beneficiaries" of the program were seen in 12 private schools across nine divisions through submission of bogus enrollees list.

DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara earlier said the potential amount of government money lost to fraud is at P52 million from School Year 2023 to 2024 alone.

The SHS voucher program, which provides financial assistance to qualified students who want to enroll in private senior high schools, was introduced by DepEd to decongest public schools, expand educational opportunities, achieve an ideal teacher-student ratio and institutionalize specialized tracks aligned with the beneficiaries' career goals. — VDV, GMA Integrated News