THE Department of Education has recovered P65 million from erring private schools under the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP) even as an investigation on the alleged irregularities attending the program continues.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department has demanded refunds from 54 private schools flagged for irregularities in the SHS-VP claims for school years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
Angara said that of the 54 schools terminated from the SHS-VP, 38 have fully refunded the DepEd, while two have made partial refunds.
“However, 14 schools have yet to return the funds, and final demand letters will be issued to ensure compliance,” Angara said.
“To date, approximately P65 million has been recovered,” he added.
Angara said that further investigation is needed to determine whether these financial irregularities constitute fraud.
For the school year 2023-2024, 12 schools are under investigation by DepEd’s Investigation Division, Angara said.
Additionally, three schools flagged by the Government Assistance and Subsidies Service have been forwarded to the National Bureau of Investigation for parallel investigation.
The DepEd chief earlier tapped the NBI to probe the alleged irregularities in the SHS-VP program, even as its internal probe is ongoing.
To prevent a recurrence of such irregularities, Angara said the department, in coordination with the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), has implemented actions to further enhance oversight and accountability starting the school year 2024-2025.
Among these are cross-referencing and verification of information, and the conduct of a 100 percent system audit, as well as random field visits to participating private schools.
“DepEd’s regional and schools division offices have also been mobilized to carry out inspections and submit detailed reports to the Central Office. Tightening of the validation processes has likewise been implemented to ensure that only eligible learners benefit from the program,” the DepEd chief added.
Angara noted that these interventions prevented the further release of inconsistent or questionable claims.
“We are taking decisive steps to strengthen our validation processes, hold erring schools accountable, and restore public trust in the SHS Voucher Program,” he said.
Further measures are set to be implemented in the coming months, including PEAC’s validation for the second semester scheduled to roll out next month, and the establishment of a billing schedule in school year 2025-2026 to streamline the disbursement process.
The DepEd Central Office initiated an investigation last month regarding the alleged “ghost” senior high school students under the SHS-VP program.
The SHS-V 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 the former.
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 presented by private schools.
