DepEd eyes wider partnership with private schools

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd) will enroll some public school students in private schools at reasonable tuition to decongest public schools nationwide.

Education Secretary Mona Valisno said the DepEd was exploring expanding the Government Assistance to Private Education (GASTPE) program or start another financial assistance program for students in private schools.

“As one option, we will talk to private school owners to arrange for reasonable fees if we transfer some students to their schools,” she said.

“This is one way to reduce classroom-student ratio in public schools, particularly those in highly urbanized areas where available land for construction is limited.

“Another option is to support private schools who will be willing to take in some selected public school students through a form of scholarship that can be part of the expanded GASTPE or another scheme of financial support.”

Valisno said the population in public schools might jump by next month when out-of-school youths are urged to enroll in public schools.

“We want all school-aged children to be in school, and this increases class size, prompting us to do classes in shifts,” she said. 

“We are finding other cost effective ways to reduce the volume of students in classrooms.”

Valisno said the DepEd may also consider the scholar’s tuition as a donation by the private school under the Adopt-a-School Program.

“Through this scheme, the school can avail of tax incentives equivalent to 150 percent of the value of the scholarship,” she said.

Valisno directed education officials to campaign for the enrollment of all students in their areas.

“This is in line with our vision to see to it that every Filipino child is assured of the opportunity to get high quality education that will make him or her a whole person, a responsible citizen, and lead him or her to a successful entrepreneurial venture,” she said.

They were told to accommodate all children of school age in the more than 45,000 public schools nationwide.

This includes out-of-school youths who are coming back to formal education.

Under the GASTPE, graduates from public elementary schools are given an opportunity to finish their education in private high schools.

For those in Metro Manila, their tuition subsidy is P10,000, and P5,000 for those in other areas. 

DepEd reports that they currently have a total of 720,000 beneficiaries. A P6-billion budget is proposed for 2011 to reach the target of one million beneficiaries.

In public schools, the ratio is one classroom for 60 students.