Senator Win Gatchalian said he will propose amendments to address the P14-billion budget shortfall to cover all 1.29-million learners under the Senior High School Voucher Program for 2020.
The SHS VP is a financial assistance program that enables underprivileged but qualified senior high school students to study in private schools, state and local universities and colleges.
The cost of supporting 1.29-million learners is P18 billion per semester or P36 billion for the entire school year. The current allocation for the SHS VP is P22.93 billion.
Gatchalian also sought the settlement of P11.4 billion owed by the DepEd to private schools under the program, noting that these schools have expenses to pay such as salaries and utilities. This entails the total addition of P25 billion to the SHS VP budget.
“It is imperative that we look for P14 billion to finance the other semester of these 1.2-million students and at the same time, pay P11 billion for the deficit,” Gatchalian said in his interpellation during the budget deliberation for the Department of Education’s 2020 budget.