SCHOLARSHIPS
A. EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTING (ESC) FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING (ESC) SELECTION PROCESS AND RANKING SYSTEM
Republic Act No. 8545 or the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE) Act provides
the legal basis for state-funded programs or financial assistance to stakeholders in private education.
Educational Service Contracting (ESC) is a partnership program by the Department of Education (DepEd) aimed in decongesting overcrowded
public Junior High Schools. In ESC, the excess capacities of certified private junior high schools are “contracted” through the slot allocations for
students who otherwise have gone to public schools. The slots come with the subsidies called ESC Grants, and program beneficiaries are
called ESC grantees, or for those purposes of these guidelines, simply grantees.
(Stipulated at DO_s2017_020)
ESC APPLICANTS ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS
ESC Applicants shall submit the following requirements:
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PSA/NSO Birth Certificate
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Income Tax Return/Certificate of Indigency
ESC APPLICANTS SELECTION PROCESS AND RANKING SYSTEM
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Must take the diagnostic examination provided by the school
Note: Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, Diagnostic Examination for aspiring ESC recipients will NO LONGER BE ADMINISTERED.
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Shall give precedence to graduates with indigent family status
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Shall give precedence to graduates of public elementary school
The School Committee shall profile and assess the students considered for ESC grants and select grantees based on need, given the
limited slots allocated to the school.
B. SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM (SHS - VP)
GUIDELINES ON ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM (SHS VP)
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ELIGIBILITY
Only learners who completed JHS in public schools operated by DepEd, and in public or private educational institutions not directly operated
by DepEd, but granted by DepEd with a permit or government recognition to operate SHS are eligible for SHS VP. For brevity, these learners
shall be referred to as Grade 10 completers. Grade 10 completers are subdivided into (1) automatically qualified learners, and (2) voucher
applicants.
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Automatically Qualified Learners
Only Grade 10 completers in SY 2019-2020 who fall under the categories below automatically qualify for vouchers and are considered
qualified voucher recipients (QVRs). They do not need to apply for vouchers.
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Category A: All Grade 10 completers in Public Schools operated by DepEd
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Category B: All Grade 10 completers in SUCs and LUCs
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Category C: All Grade 10 completers in private schools who are ESC grantees
2. Voucher Applicants
Only learners in the categories below need to apply for vouchers, and shall be referred to as voucher applicants (VAs).
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Category D: All Grade 10 completers in private schools in SY 2019-2020 who are not ESC grantees
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Category E: Learners who passed the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Test for Grade 10 by the start of the school year
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Category F: Learners who passed the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) for Grade 11 by the start of the school year.
NOTE: The following learners are not eligible for SHS VP:
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Grade 10 completers who completed Grade 10 before SY 2019-2020
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Learners who graduated High School in March 2015 or earlier
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Incoming Grade 12 learners who were not part of SHS VP in Grade 11
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Non-Filipino learners
The table below may be used for easy reference:
Table 1. Eligibility Guide
* For VAs who fall under Categories E and F, they may apply for the voucher while waiting for results of the ALS A&E Test and PEPT, respectively
2. Voucher Validity and Redemption
QVRs/QVAs redeem their voucher by enrolling for Grade 11 at a non-DepEd SHS. As with any learner, they must satisfy the requirements for
admission set by the non-DepEd SHS. A QVR/QVA who successfully enrolls at a non‐DepEd SHS becomes a voucher program beneficiary (VPB). Upon enrollment, QVRs/QVAs must present to their chosen non-DepEd SHS the following documentary evidence as proof of their eligibility.
Table 2. Documentary Evidence of Eligibility
Voucher redemption begins on the day of posting of application results on OVAP and ends on September 30 of the school year immediately after Grade 10 completion. Vouchers not redeemed within the prescribed period shall no longer be valid. QVRS/QVAs who shall be unable to redeem
their vouchers within the said period due to prolonged illness, accident, force majeure, or prolonged illness or death of a parent/guardian must
submit a letter addressed to the PEAC Executive Director providing justification for not redeeming the voucher. Relevant documents to support
their claims e.g. for prolonged illness, a medical certificate issued by a licensed medical doctor, must be submitted along with the letter. The letter
and supporting documents shall be evaluated by PEAC and become the basis for extension of voucher validity, subject to approval of DepEd.
The voucher covers only two school years – Grades 11 and 12, regardless of the number of school years it takes for the recipient to complete SHS.
3. Applicable Voucher Values
The applicable voucher amount is determined by the category of the QVR/QVA, and the location, type, and fees of the non-DepEd SHS where the
QVR will enroll. The maximum voucher amounts are shown in the table below:
Table 3. Maximum applicable voucher amount (in PHP per student per school year)
Voucher amounts represent the maximum payment a non‐DepEd SHS shall be paid per VPB per school year. Schools receive voucher payments
based on the total school fees they charge or the maximum voucher amount applicable, whichever is lower.
4. Conditions for Voucher Beneficiaries
Voucher Support is discontinued, if the student:
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drops out in the middle of the School Year
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does not re-enroll in the following school year
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is retained at the same grade level
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transfers to another SHS within the school year
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transfers to a DepEd SHS
Voucher Support may be continued, if the student:
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shifts tracks/strands at the end of the 1st semester in the same school or the end of the school year in the same or in different school
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transfers to another non DepEd SHS at the end of the school year. (The voucher amount can only be equal to or lower than the subsidy he receives from the originating school.)
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leaves school not for more than 1 year due to medical reasons.