MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) has launched an investigation into allegations of “ghost students” benefiting from its senior high school (SHS) voucher program. There are suspicions that some DepEd personnel may have been involved in the fraudulent scheme.

The department has halted the release of vouchers to 12 private schools after uncovering questionable claims, saving over P50 million in taxpayer money.

EducSec Angara Reveals P52.5 Million Fraud

Education Secretary Sonny Angara revealed that the potential fraud amounted to P52.5 million for the 2023-2024 school year, during the tenure of Vice President Sara Duterte as DepEd chief. The SHS voucher program, designed to help students from public schools attend private senior high schools, had been exploited by some institutions.

“Upon validation of the questionable claims from these 12 schools, we did not process nor release any payments and began investigating the schools involved,” Angara said in a statement.

While the names of the schools have not been disclosed, they are located across several regions, including Metro Manila, Davao, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Eastern Visayas, and Bangsamoro.

Angara also indicated that the department is exploring whether any insiders helped facilitate the fraudulent claims by adding non-existent students to the program.

“We’re looking at the possibility that there’s an accomplice here,” he said. “Only a few people have information on the voucher program, so we’re investigating thoroughly.”

He warned that those found guilty of involvement in the fraud would face both administrative and criminal penalties, including potential perjury charges against school officials who falsely certified the existence of students.

“We should have penalties so this will not be repeated,” Angara said. “It’s not only for the schools, but also the school officials because they made an oath.”

The SHS voucher program offers financial aid to students from public elementary schools, with assistance ranging from P14,000 to P22,500 for those enrolling in private senior high schools not covered by DepEd’s Education Service Contracting Program.

Senators Push for Probe, Stricter Oversight

Meanwhile, Senator Jinggoy Estrada filed Senate Resolution No. 1316, calling for the Committee on Basic Education to investigate the matter in aid of legislation.

“It is imperative for the government to monitor the proper implementation of the SHS voucher program to ensure that public funds are judiciously allocated and that the intended beneficiaries of the said program are not deprived of the assistance they need,” he said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, is also pushing for new legislation to prevent underperforming private schools from receiving government subsidies through the voucher program.

Senate Bill 2911, filed in January, seeks to amend the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act by introducing stricter criteria for schools to qualify. Schools would be evaluated based on factors such as classroom congestion rates, academic performance, and teacher quality.

“We’re tightening the requirements so that only quality schools with proper accreditation policies can participate,” Gatchalian said. “For example, dapat tingnan ang quality ng school, kasi ngayon, kahit ang mga bulok na school ay pwedeng kumuha ng voucher.”

The Senate Committee on Basic Education previously investigated the issue of ghost students last year, uncovering cases where schools had billed the government for students who didn’t exist.

“This is an ongoing problem,” Gatchalian said. “It’s good that Secretary Angara is investigating this to clean up the list of schools.”

📷 DepEd Philippines FB