Senator Win Gatchalian hailed the Senate’s third and final reading approval of a measure that will expand the coverage of the voucher program for private schools, which seeks to include all levels of basic education — from kindergarten to senior high school.
Under the Basic Education Voucher Program Act (Senate Bill No. 1981), which Gatchalian co-authored and co-sponsored, students enrolled in private basic educational institutions shall receive assistance in the form of vouchers to ensure reasonable access to private basic education.
The bill carries Gatchalian’s proposal to ensure that disadvantaged students and those belonging to low-income households shall be given priority as voucher recipients. Gatchalian previously flagged that in 2024, P12.3 billion went to non-poor beneficiaries of the Senior High School Voucher Program.
Kindergarten and Grade 1 students living in areas where public schools are congested or near-congested shall also be prioritized as voucher recipients. Automatic voucher recipients shall include Alternative Learning System (ALS) completers and disadvantaged students residing in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas without public schools.
“Sa pagpapalawak at pagpapatatag ng voucher program, hindi lang natin natutulungan ang mga pribadong paaralan. Mas lalo nating natutulungan ang mga mag-aaral na nangangailangan,” said Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.
Pagpapalawak sa Voucher Program para sa mga Pribadong Paaralan Lusot na sa Senado —Gatchalian
Ipinagbunyi ni Senador Win Gatchalian ang pag-apruba sa huli at ikatlong pagbasa ng isang panukalang batas, kung saan magiging saklaw na ng voucher program para sa mga pribadong paaralan ang lahat ng antas ng basic education — mula kindergarten hanggang senior high school.
Sa ilalim ng Basic Education Voucher Program Act (Senate Bill No. 1981) na isinulong ni Gatchalian bilang co-author at co-sponsor, ang mga mag-aaral na naka-enroll sa mga pribadong paaralan ay makakatanggap ng tulong pinansyal sa pamamagitan ng mga vouchers. Layunin nitong tulungan ang mga mag-aaral na magkaroon ng oportunidad na makatanggap ng edukasyon mula sa mga pribadong paaralan.
Nakasaad sa panukalang batas ang matagal nang isinusulong ni Gatchalian na pagbibigay prayoridad sa mga nangangailangang mag-aaral, kabilang iyong mga galing sa mga low-income households, bilang mga voucher recipients. Matatandaang pinuna ni Gatchalian na P12.3 bilyon ang napunta sa mga non-poor na benepisyaryo ng Senior High School.
Bibigyang prayoridad din bilang voucher recipients are mga mag-aaral ng Kindergarten at Grade 1 sa mga lugar kung saan may matinding siksikan na mga silid-aralan ng pampublikong paaralan. Magiging automatic voucher recipients din ang mga completers ng Alternative Learning System (ALS) at mga disadvantaged students na nakatira sa mga geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas na walang pampublikong paaralan.
“Sa pagpapalawak at pagpapatatag ng voucher program, hindi lang natin natutulungan ang mga pribadong paaralan. Mas lalo nating natutulungan ang mga mag-aaral na nangangailangan,” ani Gatchalian, vice chairman ng Senate Committee on Basic Education.
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Photo by Mark Cayabyab / OS WIN GATCHALIAN
