EDUCATION Secretary Sonny Angara yesterday said the DepEd Central Office has initiated an investigation over alleged “ghost” senior high school students under the Senior High School Voucher Program in 12 private schools across nine divisions.
The Senior High School Voucher and Educational Service Contracting Programs are the two major assistance and subsidy programs of the DepEd for public school students who want to transfer to private schools due to overcrowding in their schools.
In the school year 2022-2023, the senior high school voucher program benefitted 1,132, 115 while 1,031,193 students got the same from the ESC program.
“The DepEd is conducting a thorough investigation into personnel and officials who may be involved in this fraudulent activity, which could result in the termination of a school’s participation in the Senior High School Voucher Program,” Angara said in a statement.
Angara did not provide additional details, including the name of the schools, but said the department is taking action to preserve the integrity of its funds and program implementation.
“We take any allegations seriously. Any form of misuse of public funds intended for critical education programs will not be tolerated. This investigation is a necessary step as we pursue the truth and hold accountable those responsible,” he added.
He said the department has already initiated some actions such as preparation for the termination of the school’s accreditation and collating evidence against those behind the alleged irregularity.
“We are also exploring potential legal measures against those found culpable, including administrative and criminal sanctions, in accordance with existing laws and regulations,” Angara said.
At the same time, he said the department will assist affected, legitimate students to ensure their continued education.
In a Senate hearing last year, the Commission on Audit said “ghost” students refer to those who were named twice or more in billing statements made by private schools.
In that inquiry, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian specifically cited a report from the Private Education Assistance Committee, which indicated huge amounts of refunds in the SHS-Voucher Program.
Gatchalian questioned how schools could rack up refunds as high as P80 million, P68 million, and P14 million.
The lawmaker said there could be around 19,000 “ghost” students of the government’s voucher program.
