(DepED Order No. 11, S. 2013) Policies and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Effective SY 2013-2014

Contents Legal Bases

Article XIV of the 1987 Philippine Constitution strives to promote and make quality education available to all Filipino citizens recognizes complementary roles of public and private schools in the education system

Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in B. R.A. 8545 (Expanded) GASTPE 1. Education Service Contracting (ESC) includes Open High School Program (OHSP) Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education 2. Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS) 3. Education Voucher System (EVS) in the process of phase-out by SY 2014-2015 guidelines on EVS issued in SY 2010-2011 in DepEd Order No. 31, s. 2010

Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT

Management State Assistance Council (SAC) – policy-making body for the GASTPE -chaired by DepED Secretary Department of Education – responsible for operating the program, issues annual guidelines Regional Program Committees (RPCom) – chaired by DepEd RD and FAPE RPD – oversee operations of the program in a region Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) – contracted through its Trustee – the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) to help manage the program

Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING

ESC General Principles democratize and improve access to secondary education demonstrate strong public-private relationship Public Sector Private Sector Reduce class sizes in public high schools to manageable levels and improve the learning environment Utilize excess capacities of private secondary schools (classrooms and teachers) Decongest public secondary schools, esp. those w/ shortages of classrooms and teachers Improve viability of private secondary schools

Government Subsidy Given to deserving elementary graduates who opted to enroll in private schools, whether in a formal school setting or the Open High School Program (OHSP) a. covers four years of secondary education b. given starting at freshman level Subsidy because students pay top-ups – the differential bet. the grant and a private school’s actual tuition and other fees (TFOFS)

Amount of Subsidy Grant (per student per year) Formal Schooling Open High School Program All Regions Ex-NCR All Regions 1st yr. P6,500.00 P6,500.00 all-in 2nd yr. 6,500.00 6,500.00 all-in 3rd yr. 5,500.00 None 4th yr. 5th yr. NCR 10,000.00 1st-4th yr.

Private School Participation in ESC For Regular (Formal Schooling) Must have government recognition Must pass certification Schools accredited at least as Level II by any member of the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) are exempt from Certification

Private School Participation in ESC For Regular (Formal Schooling) Actual participation of new schools depends on: Availability of slots Position based on queuing system Priority based on seat shortages in the city/municipality

Private School Participation in ESC For OHSP (Informal Schooling) Must be recognized by the government Must be accredited at least as Level II by any member of the FAAP, or has passed the FAPE Certification Program with a rating of at least 2.50

Private School Participation in ESC For OHSP (Informal Schooling) Must have the following: ICT facilities with good internet connectivity; Teacher competence: technological fluency and knowledge of instructional design; One or more classrooms for guided learning; Availability of guidance services; and Trained school head and teachers on the alternative mode of delivery.

ESC Freshman Slot Allocation to Participating Schools Fixed slot allocation a. Equal to actual no. of 1st yr. ESC grantees last SY provided school is in good standing: passed latest certification/re-certification visit no adverse findings in last monitoring capacity to utilize slots b. New schools – usually 50 slots 2. Incentive slot allocation a. Level II and above accredited schools – plus 30 b. Certification rating of 3.00 and above – plus 15

ESC Freshman Slot Allocation to Participating Schools Additional slot allocation DepEd determine no. of additional slots based on the budget DepEd Office of Planning Services (OPS) determine seat shortages in public high schools in cities/municipalities Total no. of additional slots distribute to cities/municipalities based on percentage share to total national seat shortages FAPE and DepEd distributed slots pro rata to ESC participating schools after first applying the incentive slot distributed Note: A list showing this final distribution may be viewed at the FAPE website www.fape.org.ph

ESC Freshman Slot Allocation to Participating Schools 4. Total slot allocation is equal the sum of the ff: a. Fixed allocation Incentive allocation, if any Additional allocation, if any In cases where slots are limited in a city/municipality to support incentive allocation, the slots are distributed pro rata among ESC schools in the area that are in good standing in the program.

ESC Freshman Slot Allocation to Participating Schools 5. A school’s total slot allocation is shown in its online account in the ESC Online Encoding System (EOES) at the FAPE website: www.fape.org.ph Schools unable to fill total slots available shall lose the unfilled slots 7. No redistribution of unused slots to other schools unless authorized by DepEd Central Office

ESC Freshman Slot Allocation to Participating Schools ESC OHSP Slot Distribution Schools authorized to offer the OHSP are provided slots depending on their capacity and on the number of applicants they certify as capable of undergoing this mode of delivery

Grantee Selection Schools campaign for applicants to fill up their slot allocations Preference shall be given to: a. Public elementary graduates b. Aisle students in public high schools certified by DepED Division Superintendent.

Grantee Selection School Committee (SC) chaired by the principal with a representative of the PTA and faculty association as members: screens and prepares each applicant’s profile as basis for selection keeps applicants’ profiles for inspection by DepEd and FAPE 4. SC assesses and selects applicants to fill up slots based on need and capability to sustain and finish secondary education in the school

Grantee Selection For OHSP applicants, the school must certify in writing that it has assessed student-applicants’ readiness and capability to undergo this mode of learning

Grantee Selection 5. Principal conducts orientation for grantees and parents/guardians on ESC guidelines: Emphasize ESC is a program of government under GASTPE Objectives of ESC How grantees were selected and out of how many applicants Requirement for grantees to maintain their subsidies How much subsidy per student and differential to be paid, if any

Grantee Selection School must keep the attendance sheet as proof of the conduct of the orientation and individual contracts signed (sample in FAPE website) for inspection by DepEd and FAPE School must encode names and information of selected grantee in the EOES

Grantee Selection 8. School must indicate in student ID the icon provided in FAPE website to signify student is an ESC grantee 9. Schools must submit billing statement generated by EOES along with supporting documents to FAPE RPC by August 15

Conditions for ESC Grantees to Maintain their Grants/Subsidies For Regular (Formal Schooling) 1. Government financial assistance to grantees, no maintaining grade is required   2. Promotion to next year level assures grantee of continued support

Conditions for ESC Grantees to Maintain their Grants/Subsidies For Regular (Formal Schooling) 3. The subsidy is terminated for any one of the following reasons: If a grantee drops out for non-health reasons in the middle of the school year; If a grantee does not apply for official leave and does not re-enroll the following year; If a grantee is retained in the same year level or not promoted to the next higher year level; If a grantee is suspended for more than 2 wks. or is dismissed or expelled by the school for disciplinary violation; If a grantee transfers to a non-ESC participating school

Conditions for ESC Grantees to Maintain their Grants/Subsidies For Regular (Formal Schooling) 4. Guidelines on grantee transfers  a. outside the NCR into the NCR is not allowed b. outside NCR to another school outside NCR is permitted c. NCR to outside NCR is permitted but subsidy is reduced d. if transfer is before July 15, subsidy is paid to the school the grantee transferred to e. If transfer is after July 15, subsidy is paid to school of origin and grantee has to pay tuition and other fees in school he/she transferred to for that year

Conditions for ESC Grantees to Maintain their Grants/Subsidies For Regular (Formal Schooling) 5. Transfers are valid when: a. grantee obtains from school of origin certification that he/she is an ESC grantee with the ESC student ID number indicated and presents this to school he/she transfers to b. school of origin indicates in its online account that student is a Transfer-Out c. the receiving school indicates the student in its EOES online account that student is a Transfer-In grantee d. School includes transfer-in grantee in its billing statement

Conditions for ESC Grantees to Maintain their Grants/Subsidies ESC Grantees in OHSP (Informal Schooling) Completes and passes a given year level within one calendar year from enrolment Enrolls in the next year level within at least 2 months from completing and passing the previous year level No maintaining grade is required for retention in the program

Conditions for ESC Grantees to Maintain their Grants/Subsidies ESC Grantees in OHSP (Informal Schooling) Failure to complete a year level within one calendar from enrolment shall automatically be dropped from the program Failure to enroll in the next year level within two months of completing and passing the previous year level shall be automatically dropped from the program

TEACHER SALARY SUBSIDY (TSS) Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING TEACHER SALARY SUBSIDY (TSS)

Coverage and Amount of Teacher Salary Subsidy Available only to secondary teachers of ESC participating schools that meet all the following criteria: LET passers with valid licenses from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) as of August 15 of the current school year; Bachelor in Secondary Education graduates or AB-BS with 18 units in professional education courses; Teachers of ESC grantees of an ESC participating school Note: non-teaching staff are not entitled to the salary subsidy.

Coverage and Amount of Teacher Salary Subsidy Salary subsidy P12,000.00 per teacher per year or P1,000.00 per month of service subject to withholding tax. Teachers who resigned or retired at the time of payment of the TSS due to health reasons and in accordance with school regulations are entitled to the subsidy based on actual services rendered. Unexpended subsidies must be returned to DepEd. These are not transferrable to teachers not listed among those billed by the school for the school year. The government has a right to verify the PRC licenses of teachers claim the TSS. Any false claims shall result in a suspension TSS of the school.

TSS Payment and Receipt Requirement Schools submit to FAPE RPC, together with the ESC Billing Statement: Form available in the FAPE website for listing licensed teachers and PRC license members Photocopy of PRC license of each teacher Certificate of Good Standing issued by PRC TSS Billing Statement Note: no other documents should be provided other than the above

TSS Payment and Receipt Requirement

TSS Payment and Receipt Requirement Upon school’s receipt of TSS payment, it shall prepare a payroll in five (5) copies, consisting of the following: a. Names of ESC teachers; b. Corresponding PRC license numbers; Amount received; and Signatures of recipients

TSS Payment and Receipt Requirement The payroll must be signed by school authorized officials and the head of the faculty organization, or its equivalent, in said school. In case there is no faculty organization in the ESC school, teachers listed in the payroll must elect representative to witness the grant of TSS to them.

TSS Payment and Receipt Requirement The payroll shall be filed separately within two (2) weeks from date of the payroll with the ff: DepEd, SE, FAPE, DepEd Regional Office, DepEd Division Office, the school The DepEd Division Office is tasked to monitor the implementation of the TSS and to report to DepEd Regional Office, cc: Central Office, violations, if any, committed by ESC participating schools.

REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING TEACHER SALARY SUBSIDY (TSS) REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS

REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS Each participating school is provided an account and password in the ESC Online Encoding System (EOES) in the FAPE website: www.fape.org.ph Schools must annually update information on the status of their grantees and other information required in order for the EOES to generate ESC, EVS and TSS Billing Statements BEIS The documents are valid only when they are electronically generated and are coded by the EOES.

REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS Schools must have an IT proficient staff to serve as encoder to ensure complete and correct data entry in the EOES and to facilitate proper documentary submission to FAPE by the August 15 deadline. An annual seminar is conducted by the FAPE Regional Program Secretariat for school’s encoders after the Regional Program Orientation.

REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS Other documents apart from the EOES-generated BEIS and Billing Statements that need to be submitted are as follows:  DepEd received copy of school tuition and other fees Form 3 or/and C for ESC and EVS, respectively (Certification of Tuition and Other School Fees) TSS list of teachers Photocopy of Professional Teachers Licenses TSS payroll of the preceding school year Photocopy of Land Bank of the Phils. STI1 (Savings Acct.) or IMI1 (Checking Acct.)

REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS 6. A guide to the order and no. of copies of the above documents to be arranged in six (6) folders is indicated in each school’s online account 7. The six (6) folders are for the following: Billing Statement for the signature of DepEd Regional Director or his/her representative FAPE DepEd Central Office FAPE RPC DepEd Regional Office School copy

REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS 8. The deadline for submission of Billing Statements, BEIS and supporting documents to the FAPE RPC is on or before August 15, 2013. All valid claims shall be paid within the fiscal year. 9. Claims received after the deadline will be subject to verification and shall result in a delay in payment plus: A penalty of a 30% reduction in the fixed slot allocation of the school will be implemented the following school year and; No additional slots shall be provided the school

PROCESSING OF SCHOOL CLAIMS Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING TEACHER SALARY SUBSIDY (TSS) REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS PROCESSING OF SCHOOL CLAIMS

Processing of School Claims FAPE RPCs receive school documentary submissions and use a checklist to ensure complete documents in six (6) folders The RPC indicates in the EOES its receipt of complete school documents The RPC checks documents for accuracy and validity The RPC has Billing Statement/s signed by DepEd Regional Director RPC retrieves signed Billing Statements and arranges them in batches for delivery to FAPE Central Office

Processing of School Claims RPC indicates in EOES “Submitted to FAPE” the documents forwarded to FAPE Central Office FAPE Central Office receives school documents, indicates in EOES “On-Process FAPE” FAPE checks billing statement against EOES billing statement to ensure they are the same and checks supporting documents for completeness and validity If there is deficiency or error, FAPE will indicate in EOES “On-Hold” and the reason for such Schools must correct deficiency or error in document/s

Processing of School Claims If all documents are okay, FAPE arranges school billing statements in batches on a first-come, first-served basis for submission to DepEd Central for processing 10. Upon DepEd Central’s acknowledgment of receipt of a batch of billing statements, FAPE indicates “Submitted to DepEd” in the EOES and indicates the batch number

Processing of School Claims Schools may view the status of their submission by checking their online accounts in the EOES. FAPE must process and submit to DepEd all valid claims received by the August 15 deadline to DepEd Central not later than October 30.

Processing of School Claims For the OHSP Given the irregular entry/enrollment dates of grantees into the program, only those grantees reported by the school before the August 15 for submission of Billing Statements shall be considered for payment for that particular school year.   Grantees that were not included in the billing statement/s submitted by the deadline may be billed for payment before the deadline the following school year.

Payments of Schools to Official Landbank Accounts Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING TEACHER SALARY SUBSIDY (TSS) REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS PROCESSING OF SCHOOL CLAIMS Payments of Schools to Official Landbank Accounts

Payments of Schools to Official Landbank Accounts DepEd shall pay the ESC, EVS and TSS subsidies through schools’ Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) accounts. School LBP accounts must be in the official name of the school. No payment shall be made directly to a person, whether he or she is a grantee or a school official.

Payments of Schools to Official Landbank Accounts Upon receipt of payment, an official receipt must be issued by the school to DepEd Central Office and delivered to the FAPE RPC as soon as possible. The RPC shall in turn forward receipts to FAPE in Makati which shall in forward these to DepEd Central Accounting Division Failure of a school to issue and submit an official receipt shall cause the withholding of the following year’s grant payments.

Payments of Schools to Official Landbank Accounts Overpayment to schools due to errors and mistakes in the ESC Billing Statements must be refunded by the school only through check payment issued to DepEd Central Office. a. Checks must be submitted to concerned FAPE RPC b. RPC will acknowledge receipt of check, consolidate and send checks to FAPE Makati c. FAPE will forward checks to DepEd Central Accounting Division and obtain official receipt d. Official receipts sent back to RPCs for mailing to schools concerned

VIII. QUALITY ASSURANCE OF PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING TEACHER SALARY SUBSIDY (TSS) REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS PROCESSING OF SCHOOL CLAIMS Payments of Schools to Official Landbank Accounts VIII. QUALITY ASSURANCE OF PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS

Quality Assurance of Participating Schools Re-certification of ESC participating schools is done every three (3) years ensure that schools meet DepEd minimum standards for secondary schools Ratings given are as follows: 3.00 and above Above Standard 2.00 to 2.99 Standard 1.99 and below Below Standard

Quality Assurance of Participating Schools The school must be conducted for re-certification within one month from receipt of notice from FAPE or the school shall be barred from accepting freshman grantees the following school year

Quality Assurance of Participating Schools 4. Schools that fail re-certification with a rating of less than 2.00 shall: not be allotted additional slots given one school year to improve their curriculum, governance or school operations and pass re-certification. if a school still fails, it shall no longer be allowed to recruit freshman grantees and shall only be allowed to graduate their remaining grantees.

Contents Legal Bases MANAGEMENT EDUCATION SERVICE CONTRACTING TEACHER SALARY SUBSIDY (TSS) REPORTING AND BILLING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESC & EVS PROCESSING OF SCHOOL CLAIMS Payments of Schools to Official Landbank Accounts QUALITY ASSURANCE OF PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS IX. GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION Falsification of data or information in any of the program forms and related attachments Penalty: a minimum suspension of one (1) year whereby the school shall not be allowed to recruit freshman grantees.

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION B. Padding and/or inclusion of “ghost students” in the list of grantees. This refers to the following:  Listed grantees absent during a joint FAPE and DepEd field audit of the school, whose existence and whereabouts cannot be sufficiently explained and supported by school authorities; Grantees listed as enrolled in a specific school campus or unit but are actually attending classes in a different school campus or unit; Grantees listed as “enrolled” but who have not been attending classes since the opening of classes; Grantees double-listed under the ESC program. Penalty: Termination from the program whereby the school shall no longer be allowed to recruit freshman grantees and accept transferees from other ESC schools. The school shall be allowed to graduate its grantees at the higher year levels and will be under close monitoring

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION C. Charging grantees in excess of the school’s tuition and other standard and non-standard fees D. Non-reimbursement or undue delay in the reimbursement of tuition and other fees advanced by grantees after the school has been paid by DepEd  Penalty: a documented return of the excess funds charged by the school and a 50% discount on any TFOF differential the grantee has to pay the school the following school year

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION E. A retention rate on the total number of ESC grantees below 90% except for reasons due to force majeure (e.g. calamities, armed conflict)  Penalty: a reduction in the school’s fixed slot allocation by the number of slots based on the percentage needed to meet the 90% retention rate and no additional slot allocation.

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION F. Refusal to release transfer credentials to grantees that opt to transfer to other schools.   Penalty: a documented release of the transfer credentials and reduction in the fixed slot allocation of the school by the number of grantees affected and no additional slot allocation.

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION G. Requiring transferring grantees to pay for unattended school years Penalty: a reduction in the fixed slot allocation by the number of affected grantees and no additional slot allocation

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION H. Schools unduly withholding TSS payments to qualified licensed teachers. Penalty: a 10% reduction in the school’s fixed slot allocation and no additional slot allocation

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION I. Schools with unresolved ownership disputes filed in court. Once an ownership dispute is established through receipt of court documents supporting such or when the adverse party makes a claim over the grants received by the school, the school’s participation in the programs shall be suspended beginning with ESC freshman recruitment the following school year. Payment for continuing grantees of the school shall be made only upon the written Endorsement by the DepEd Regional Office after consulting its Legal Department.  

GROUNDS FOR PENALTIES, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF SCHOOL PARTICIPATION J. Participating schools whose government recognition has lapsed must renew their recognition before the start of the school year. Failure to do so will prevent the school from accepting freshman ESC grantees.

Treatment of Findings   Schools with serious violations of the above will be reported to the DepEd Central Office and the RPCom. The DepEd Central Office shall notify the concerned DepEd Regional Offices (RO) of its receipt of the serious findings and instruct the RO to investigate and/or confirm the findings as a basis for levying sanctions.  

Treatment of Findings   The Office of the DepEd Secretary shall exercise veto power over investigative findings of the DepEd RO. The sanctions against schools for the above violations shall become effective the following school year. In cases such as schools with ghost students, DepEd shall expect the school to immediately return the subsidies for the ghost students, otherwise, DepEd may pursue charges against the school for the return of the subsidies

Inquiries regarding GASTPE may be sent to the following contact numbers and addresses:   Fund for Assistance to Private Education (Main Office – Makati) Trunk line (02) 845-0169 / (0917)501-3237 (ask to be connected to ESC staff) www.fape.org.ph DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Accounting Division (02) 633-7961 and 633-7233 ma.teresa.guledew@gmail.com Office of Planning Service (02) 633-7216 and 638-8634 ppdopsdeped@gmail.com   Bureau of Secondary Education (02) 633-7242 and 636-5173 lolitaandrada@yahoo.com

Frequently asked Questions? Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS)   What is the withholding tax on the TSS? Answer As a salary subsidy, the TSS is a form of additional compensation that does not part form part of a qualified teacher’s basic salary. Hence, a withholding tax on the TSS is applied separately from that of the basic salary. Therefore, the P12,000 TSS is subject to a withholding tax of 10% resulting in a TSS beneficiary receiving a net amount of P10,800.   However, in cases where what is due the teacher on a pro rata basis due to the number of months served entitles him or her to an amount anywhere between P5,000 to below P10,000 the withholding tax is 5%. For amounts less than P5,000 no withholding tax is applicable.

Frequently asked Questions? Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS)   Are licensed elementary teachers who are Bachelor in Secondary education graduates or AB-BS with 18 units in professional education courses qualified for the TSS? Answer No. There is a DepEd memo that allows secondary education teachers to teach in elementary but disallows elementary education teachers to teach in secondary level. TSS qualified teachers must be secondary education licensed teachers.

Frequently asked Questions? Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS)   Can unexpended/unused TSS amounts be distributed or shared with other teachers that also teach ESC grantees who are not listed among those in the school’s TSS billing statement? Answer No. The TSS is only for those teachers listed in the billing statement. Unexpended funds must be returned to DepEd Central Office through a check issuance by the school and submitted to the FAPE RPC.

End of presentation Thank you!