Policies and Guidelines on Implementation of Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Program Effective SY 2016-2017

April 5, 2015

DEPED ORDER NO. 018-16

POLICIES AND GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN PRIVATE EDUCATION (GASTPE) PROGRAM EFFECTIVE SCHOOL YEAR 2016-2017

 

1. The Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education, consisting of the Education Service Contracting (ESC) and the Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS), is a demonstration of the Government's commitment to maintain the viability of private education as a key partner in the delivery of quality basic education.

2. In support of this commitment, the Department of Education (DepEd) has issued the enclosed Policies and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Program Effective School Year 2016-2017 to ensure its effective and efficient Program implementation.

3. These policies and guidelines shall remain in effect unless otherwise amended.

4. Immediate dissemination of and strict compliance with this Order is directed.

(SGD.) BR. ARMIN A. LUISTRO FSCSecretary

(Enclosure to DepEd Order No. 18, s. 2016)

Policies and Guidelines for the Government Assistance

I. Legal Bases

Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines and Republic Act No. 8545 (RA 8545) — the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Act — provide the legal bases for Education Service Contracting (ESC). It is the declared policy of the State, in conformity with the mandate of the Constitution, to promote and make quality education available to all Filipino citizens. The State also recognizes the complementary roles of public and private schools in the education system, especially the latter's invaluable contribution to education. The ESC, since its pilot test in 1982 to 1984, has become a symbol of private-public school partnership in making secondary education accessible to all Filipino citizens. CAIHTE

A key provision of Republic Act No. 10533 (RA 10533) — the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 — is the introduction of two (2) additional year levels in secondary education. In School Year (SY) 2016-2017, secondary education shall consist of four (4) years of junior high school and the first of two (2) years of senior high school. Further, RA 10533 expands support for private education by extending the coverage of GASTPE to qualified students in senior high school.

The management of GASTPE has been contracted out by the Department of Education (DepEd) to the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), which is the trustee of the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE), a perpetual trust fund created by and between the Philippine and United States governments under Executive Order No. 156, s. 1968 for the purpose of providing assistance to private education in the country.

II. General Principles and Policies

The guidelines and procedures for the implementation of the ESC shall be governed by the following general principles and policies:

The ESC Program aims to democratize and improve access to quality junior high school education through government extension of financial assistance to deserving elementary school graduates who wish to pursue their junior high school education in private schools. By providing support to students in private schools, the Program also contributes towards reducing class sizes in public junior high schools to desired levels, especially for those experiencing shortage of classrooms and teachers. Thus, the ESC is one means by which the government is able to decongest public junior high schools.

Program beneficiaries in ESC participating private junior high schools are assured of the Government's commitment to support their education for as long as they meet the requirements for regular promotion to each of the succeeding school years until they graduate.

The ESC is a concrete demonstration of public-private partnership that is apparent at all levels of the program's operations. DepEd, the PEAC through its National Secretariat, and the participating private schools recognize the need to continuously monitor and evaluate the ESC. A database on the ESC has been developed and is being maintained. The DepEd shall allocate and obligate the annual GASTPE budget within the calendar year so that payments can be effected to the participating schools on time.

As part of the ESC program and pursuant to Section 14, "Teachers' Salary Subsidy Fund" (TSS) of RA 8545, the DepEd has earmarked a portion of its GASTPE appropriations to finance the grant of salary subsidy to teachers in participating private secondary schools in the ESC Program. The grant of salary subsidy to licensed teachers in participating private junior high schools in the ESC program was implemented beginning in SY 2009-2010.

III. Program Management

A. General Responsibilities of DepEd

In general, the DepEd Central Office shall ensure the smooth and efficient implementation of the program through the following:

1. Coordinate with PEAC in implementing the ESC and TSS nationwide;

2. Prescribe the necessary policies and directives for the ESC and TSS, as well as issue and disseminate the necessary Orders/Memos regarding their implementing guidelines to its field offices and other parties concerned;

3. Ensure that the annual as well as long-term funding requirements of the ESC and TSS are supported and provided for by their inclusion in the DepEd's annual budget;

4. Expedite the prompt release of the entitlements of the participating schools in the ESC and TSS with complete billing documents;

5. Coordinate with PEAC for the formulation, management, and conduct of teacher and administrator training programs in accordance with DepEd's training priorities for purposes of supporting and ensuring the delivery of quality educational services by participating private schools;

6. Coordinate with PEAC for the conduct of research and evaluation studies on the ESC and TSS as well as on priority education-related issues subject to DepEd's approval;

7. Conduct monitoring and evaluation activities and report to appropriate authorities, the performance of the ESC and TSS and of the stakeholders, including but not limited to PEAC, the participating private schools, and the DepEd field units, as well as report other concerns in connection with or relating to the ESC and TSS and its stakeholders;

8. Provide PEAC with access to data, documents and other information that are pertinent to the ESC and TSS, such as status reports on the payment of grants to participating schools, and the Basic Education Information System (BEIS);

9. Organize at the regional level, the Regional Program Committees (RPCom) whose functions shall be as follows:

a) Oversee public and private participating secondary schools' compliance with the general guidelines and policies of the GASTPE Program

b) Review, compile, sign and forward schools' Billing Statements to the PEAC National Secretariat

c) Resolve problems that may occur and recommend measures to improve program implementation

10. The composition of the RPCom shall be as follows:

a) DepEd Regional Director as Chair

b) PEAC Regional Program Director as Co-chair

c) President of the Schools Division Superintendent Association in the region as member representing the schools division offices

d) DepEd Regional Chief of Quality Assurance Division

e) DepEd Regional Chief of the Policy, Planning and Research Division

f) PEAC Regional Program Coordinator as Member

B. General Responsibilities of PEAC

In general, PEAC shall have the following responsibilities upon DepEd's instructions:

1. Conduct orientation conferences on ESC and TSS policies, guidelines, procedures, and other related matters for the RPCom, the DepEd Schools Division Offices concerned, participating schools, and other concerned entities and individuals; DETACa

2. Conduct continuous certification of ESC participating schools as a system of quality assurance of service providers;

3. Evaluate and process the billing statements of each school participating in the ESC and TSS, including the supporting documents required under DepEd-approved policies and guidelines;

4. Submit to DepEd the processed ESC and TSS billing statements and supporting documents for processing of payment;

5. Formulate, manage, and conduct teacher and administrator training programs in accordance with DepEd's training priorities to support and ensure the delivery of quality educational services by participating schools in line with the provisions and government funding support;

6. Propose, for DepEd approval and funding, the conduct of research and evaluation studies on the ESC and TSS as well as on priority education related issues subject to DepEd's approval;

7. Undertake, in aid of policy recommendation and standard-setting, field audits of participating schools in the ESC and TSS to confirm or validate the veracity of the information contained in the billing statements and supporting documents submitted by such participating schools, which shall serve as basis for the payment of individual school grants;

8. Report to the DepEd violations of program policies and guidelines as well as other concerns affecting the proper implementation of the ESC and TSS and provide recommendations for the appropriate action of the DepEd;

9. Maintain a database in accordance with the ESC and TSS requirements and provide the DepEd with complete data;

10. Submit to the DepEd reports on a quarterly basis or whenever necessary, including annual reports and the liquidation of expenses incurred in the conduct of teacher and administrator training and research; and

 

11. Designate PEAC Regional Program Directors and Coordinators in each region to serve as members of the RPCom and to provide technical and administrative support in the overall management of the ESC and TSS in accordance with the functions listed in the programs' guidelines.

C. PEAC Regional Program Secretariat

To assist PEAC in the discharge of its functions, the PEAC shall establish Regional Secretariats (PEAC RS). The PEAC RS shall be headed by the Regional Program Director and assisted by a Regional Program Coordinator. The main responsibility of the PEAC RS shall be to provide technical and administrative support in the overall management of the programs at the regional and school levels. The PEAC RS is expected to address/respond to the specific needs of participating schools in their mission of improving student learning.

The functions of the PEAC RS shall be as follows:

1. Manage the day-to-day implementation of the programs in accordance with Program Guidelines and coordinate its efforts with members of the RPCom;

2. Provide advisory, guidance and assistance to the participating schools in the proper accomplishment of program forms and supporting documents;

3. Receive and undertake review of the completeness and accuracy of the documents submitted by the participating schools;

4. Forward to the PEAC National Secretariat (PEAC NS) the completed program forms after signing of the schools' billing statements by the RPCom;

5. Conduct field audit of participating schools' compliance with Program Implementing Guidelines and Procedures; verify existence of grantees through visits to schools; and recommend to PEAC appropriate action on violations found;

6. Submit monitoring and implementation reports to the PEAC NS and the RPCom;

7. Based on the specific needs of school administrators, teachers, and grantees in the region, organize workshops, training programs, and coaching and mentoring activities.

IV. General Guidelines

The following guidelines shall apply to the ESC program:

A. Conditions of the ESC Grants

1. ESC Grantees in Formal Schooling

 The ESC grants shall cover four (4) years of junior high school from Grade 7 to Grade 10. The provision of ESC grants starts at the Grade 7 level. No new grants shall be awarded at higher grade levels. If the grantees are enrolled in night high schools or evening classes designed for a five-year curriculum, the grant can be availed for four (4) years only.

 The grant is deemed renewed for the next school year if the student is promoted to the next grade level and enrolls in the same school. Since the ESC is a system of financial assistance to grantees, no maintaining grade shall be required for retention in the program.

 The grant is deemed terminated for any one of the following reasons:

• If the student drops out for non-health reasons in the middle of the school year;

• If the student does not re-enroll the following school year;

• If the student is retained at the same grade level or not promoted to the next higher grade level;

• If the student is suspended for more than two (2) weeks or is dismissed or expelled by the school for disciplinary violation; or

• If the student transfers to a non-ESC-participating school.

 A grantee may apply for transfer to another ESC participating school. However, transfers from outside the National Capital Region (NCR) into NCR are not allowed. Transfers from NCR to participating schools outside the NCR may be allowed, but the amount of the grant is reduced accordingly.

 Grantees that dropped out due to the following reasons shall be readmitted into the ESC program provided that they submit documents that will support their claim: aDSIHc

• Death of the grantee's parent or guardian

• Force majeure events

• Sickness supported by a medical certificate

2. ESC Grantees in the Open High School Program (OHSP)

 The ESC grants in the OHSP shall cover the four (4) years of junior high school from Grade 7 to Grade 10. The provision of ESC grants starts at the Grade 7 level. No new grants shall be awarded at higher grade levels.

 The grant is deemed renewed for the grade level if the student completes and passes a given grade level within one calendar year (12 months) from enrolment and enrolls in the next grade level within at least two (2) months from completing and passing the previous grade level. No maintaining grade shall be required for retention in the program.

 A grantee who fails to complete a grade level within one calendar year (12 months) from enrolment shall automatically be dropped from the program.

 A grantee who fails to enroll in the next grade level within two (2) months of completing and passing the previous grade level shall also be automatically dropped from the program.

B. Amounts of the ESC and Other Financial Matters

1. ESC Grantees in Formal Schooling

a) Amount of Subsidy

 The amount of subsidy for Grade 7 and Grade 8 grantees in School Year 2016-2017 in regions the NCR shall be Eight Thousand Five Hundred Pesos (Php8,500) per grantee for an entire school year, subject to adjustments approved by the State Assistance Council (SAC). Meanwhile, the amount of subsidy for Grade 9 and Grade 10 ESC grantees shall be the same as that received by these students in the previous school year, SY 2015-2016 (Grades 9 — Php7,500 and Grade 10 — Php6,500 per grantee).

 For NCR, the amount of subsidy for Grade 7 and Grade 8 grantees shall be Eleven Thousand Pesos (Php11,000) per grantee for an entire school year, subject to adjustments approved by the SAC. The amount of subsidy for Grade 9 and Grade 10 ESC grantees shall be the same as that received by these students in the previous school year, SY 2015-2016 (Grades 9 and Grade 10 — 207 Php10,000 per grantee). The higher subsidy is in recognition of the fact that private school tuition and all other fees are much higher in NCR than in the rest of the country.

 However, if the total school fees (TSF) — tuition, other, and miscellaneous fees — charged by a school are lower than the ESC subsidy, the amount that shall be paid the school shall not be more than the TSF it charges.

b) Grantee Transfers

 If a grantee transfers to another ESC participating school before the 15th of July, the DepEd shall pay the subsidy to the receiving school, not the school of origin. No payment of subsidy to the receiving school shall be made for transfers beyond this date.

 If a grantee transfers to another ESC-participating school after the 15th of July, DepEd shall pay the subsidy to the school of origin. It shall be the responsibility of the grantee to settle accounts with the receiving school. It has been the policy per DepEd Order No. 31, s. 2010 that the receiving school cannot collect payment from the DepEd for the transferees. For statistical purposes, the student who transfers after said date shall be counted as a grantee at the school of origin for the current school year.

 It shall be the responsibility of the receiving school to report in its online school account in the ESC Information Management System (ESC IMS) in the PEAC Secretariat's website the names and other details of transferees in and out of the school concerned.

2. ESC Grantees in the OHSP

 The grant amount for incoming grantees of the OHSP for all regions including the NCR shall be the same as that for formal schooling. However, the grant represents full payment such that no TSF differentials need to be paid by grantees in the OHSP, except for the cost of reproduction of the prescribed student learning modules provided by the PEAC through its Secretariat.

C. Private School Participation in the ESC

1. For Regular (Formal Schooling)

 A private junior high school desiring to participate in the ESC may write a letter of intent (containing the school's contact details and email address) to the Executive Director of the PEAC National Secretariat at the 5th Floor, Salamin Bldg., 197 Salcedo St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. The conditions for school participation in the formal instruction mode of the program are as follows:

a) The school should be recognized by the government. It should be accredited at least as Level I by any member of the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), or has garnered a rating of at least 2.00 (Within Standard) in the ESC Certification Program conducted by the PEAC.

 A participating school whose government recognition is revoked must secure recognition before the start of the school year. Failure to do so shall bar the school from accepting Grade 7 ESC grantees.

b) Newly-certified or newly-accepted applicant schools as of end-March of every year, which are listed in the PEAC website under List of Newly-Accepted Schools, may participate in the ESC program, subject to the availability of slots and based on a queuing system. ETHIDa

 Applicant schools certified after end-March of every year shall be considered for participation the following school year, subject to the availability of slots and based on a queuing system.

c) An orientation on the DepEd guidelines for the program is conducted yearly in every region to ensure that schools are aware of the policies, guidelines and requirements of the program.

d) The PEAC RS shall assist ESC participating schools in assessing and continuously improving their quality.

2. Other requirements for participating private schools include the following:

a) The private school has a School Committee composed of the school head as chairperson, the representative of the parents-teachers association, and the representative of the faculty association. This committee screens and prepares each grantee's profile as basis for grantee selection.

b) The school must make itself available for re-certification after three (3) years from its last certification if its last rating was within standard (WS) or, five (5) years if its last rating was above standard (AS). It must submit all the necessary requirements for a re-certification visit within two (2) months of receipt of written notice for re-certification; otherwise, the school shall be barred from accepting Grade 7 ESC grantees the following school year. Submission of all complete documentary requirements is necessary before a certification visit of the school is scheduled.

 

c) Schools that fail re-certification with a rating of less than 2.00 shall not be allotted additional slots and shall be given one school year to comply with the recommendations of the Certification Team. After this period, they must pass a final re-certification visit; otherwise, these schools shall only be allowed to graduate their remaining grantees until their phase out as participants of the ESC program. Schools that fail a final re-certification visit may, only after a period of three (3) years, consider re-applying in the ESC program as an applicant-school.

3. For OHSP Schools

a) The school should be recognized by the government. It must be accredited at least as Level I by any member of the FAAP, or has passed the PEAC Certification program.

b) Schools participating in the ESC OHSP are required to have the following:

(1) ICT facilities with good internet connectivity;

(2) Student guidance services;

c) Schools that have been assessed to have met the requirements and consequently allowed to participate in the ESC OHSP are listed in the PEAC website under the List of Certified OHSP Schools;

d) Schools that are accepted in the ESC OHSP are required to attend the orientation and training of school heads and teachers on the OHSP instructional design and mode of delivery provided by the PEAC Secretariat;

e) Schools participating in the ESC OHSP are expected to be compliant with all the other requirements for inclusion and retention in the ESC program;

f) For SY 2016-2017, no new schools shall be accepted in the OHSP as an evaluation of the OHSP shall be conducted by the PEAC.

D. Allocation of Slots

1. Fixed Slot Allocation

a) Regular Formal Schooling

(1) For SY 2016-2017, an ESC-participating school receives Grade 7 ESC slots equal to its actual number of Grade 7 ESC grantees in the preceding school year or 50 Grade 7 slots whichever is higher (referred to as its fixed slot allocation), on the condition that the school is in good standing in the Program and has demonstrated its capacity to utilize its allocated slots. A school is considered to be in good standing in the program if:

(a) It has passed the latest certification/re- certification;

(b) It has no adverse findings in its last monitoring visit;

(c) It has not incurred sanctions or penalties.

(2) A school participating in the program for the first time shall be allocated a maximum of fifty (50) fixed Grade 7 slots.

b) Open High School Program

 For SY 2016-2017, ESC schools participating in the OHSP shall receive Grade 7 OHSP slots equal to the actual number of Grade 7 OHSP grantees they had in the previous school year.

2. Additional Slot Allocation

a) Allocation of additional slots shall depend on the approved GASTPE budget for the school year.

b) Additional slots are allocated a participating school based on the incidence of shortage or congestion in public secondary schools in the municipality where it is located and on the school's ESC certification rating.

c) The determination of additional slots to a school shall take into account the following:

(1) If the school has a Level I accreditation from any member of the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), it is allocated a maximum of thirty (30) additional incentive slots.

(2) If the school has at least a Level II accreditation from any member of the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), it is allocated a maximum of sixty (60) additional incentive slots.

(3) If the school rates Above Standard (3.00 and above) in the ESC Certification, it is allocated a maximum of thirty (30) additional incentive slots.

d) Applicable sanctions and penalties are imposed on a participating school that submits its billing statement beyond the prescribed deadline as well as for violations of any of the provisions in the previous school year's implementing guidelines. Sanctions and penalties range from the non-allocation of Grade 7 ESC slots in the subsequent school year to termination.

e) The distribution of slots to individual participating schools is also indicated in their respective online accounts in the ESC IMS.

f) Given that the total slot allocation of each participating school has been predetermined, requests for more slots shall not be entertained.

E. Selection of Grantees cSEDTC

1. Preference shall be given to graduates of public elementary schools. While these students are eligible for ESC subsidies, they must undergo assessment for selection by the School Committees of ESC-participating schools they have chosen to apply in.

2. An ESC-participating private school shall form a School Committee headed by the principal that shall be responsible for profiling applicant-grantees on the basis of need, considering the limited number of slots of the school.

3. The office of the School Governance and Operations Division in the Schools Division Office may review during its own monitoring visits the records of all grantee-applicants from which the participating schools' grantees were selected in order to ensure appropriate targeting of program beneficiaries.

4. The principal shall be responsible for orienting the grantees and their parent/guardians regarding ESC program policies. As proof of the conduct of the orientation, an attendance form showing the signatures of the parents and/or guardians is required. It shall be made clear during the orientation that the ESC is a government program provided for under RA 8545 or the GASTPE Law. At the end of the orientation, individual contracts (templates available in the ESC IMS under Downloads link) between the school and grantees' parents and/or guardian are signed to affirm the latter's commitment to support the grantees' completion of secondary education under the program. The school shall file these contracts for inspection and review by the DepEd and PEAC NS.

5. Students accepted as ESC grantees are required to submit to the ESC participating schools the following documents:

a) ESC Form 1 (available in the ESC IMS)

b) Original copy of Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Birth Certificate

 These documents shall be kept in the school and presented to the GASTPE Monitoring Team during monitoring.

6. ESC participating schools must place in the lower right portion of the back of the grantees' school IDs the icon provided in the ESC IMS under the "Downloads" link to indicate that they are ESC grantees.

F. Reporting and Billing Arrangements for ESC and TSS

1. Participating schools must assign an IT-proficient staff to be responsible for encoding data for their Billing Statement/s in the schools online account in the ESC IMS and to prepare and ensure complete and correct documentary submission to the PEAC RS by the deadline. A seminar is conducted in every region to instruct the participating schools' staff on the proper and complete accomplishment of the requirements for online and documentary submissions.

2. Participating schools are provided with a unique PEAC School ID and a password to access their school account in the ESC IMS found at www.fape.org.ph.

3. A school's online account should contain:

a) Names and other information of its new grantees (Grade 7) as encoded by the school;

b) List of the school's existing/continuing grantees (Grades 8 to 10). The status of each grantee must be updated by the school on a yearly basis (e.g., retained, transferred out).

4. After the accomplishment of Item 3, the system will generate an ESC Billing Statement covering new and continuing grantees for the current school year. The school shall print its Billing Statement in the number of copies indicated by the system and have each copy signed by the members of its School Committee before submitting these with Items 5 and 6 below to the PEAC Regional Secretariat for processing.

5. For the Teachers' Salary Subsidy (TSS), participating schools shall be required to encode the names and information of all their licensed teachers teaching junior high school and create billing statements for their qualified TSS recipients.

 Since SY 2015-2016, schools are required to encode the names of all teachers (licensed, non-licensed, part-time, and full-time) in the ESC IMS.

6. The deadline for participating private schools to submit their ESC and TSS Billing Statements along with other supporting documentary requirements to the PEAC RS is on August 15 of every school year. The PEAC RS shall facilitate the review, compilation, signing of the ESC Billing Statements and forwarding the same to the PEAC NS not later than August 30. All valid claims received within this period shall be paid within the school year.

 Claims received after the deadline shall be subject to review and verification.

 Furthermore, the concerned schools shall be penalized with a 30% reduction in their total slot allocation in the following school year.

G. Processing of School Claims

1. Each school's online account in the ESC IMS contains a guide/checklist indicating what constitutes a complete documentary submission to the PEAC RS.

2. The PEAC RS shall receive school Billing Statements, TSS forms, and supporting documents. The guide/checklist in Item 1 above shall be used to ensure that the documents are complete before these are accepted. The PEAC RS shall check the documents for accuracy and consolidate these into batches on a first-come, first-served basis for the signing by signatories at the region before submitting these to the PEAC NS.

3. The PEAC NS shall compare the data in the submitted school Billing Statements with the electronically-generated program forms. It shall consolidate the Billing Statements in batches on a first-come, first-served basis, and endorse these for payment to the DepEd Accounting Division not later than October 30. The batch numbers indicate the priority or queuing order of payment of schools. A school may check its batch number in its online account in the PEAC website.

4. For the OHSP, given the irregular entry/enrollment dates of grantees into the program, only those grantees billed by participating schools by the August 15 deadline for submission of the Billing Statements shall be considered for payment for that school year. Deadline for submission of OHSP billing statements shall be on December 15, 2016. Billing statements for OHSP grantees shall be made separate from that for regular ESC grantees.

 

H. Payment of Grants to Official School Land Bank Accounts

1. The DepEd shall credit to the schools' Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) accounts, the payment of the ESC and TSS grants. This bank account must be in the official name of the school. In no case shall payment be made directly to a person.

2. Once schools receive payment of subsidies, they must issue an official receipt to the DepEd Central Office and submit this to the PEAC RS. The PEAC RS shall forward the receipts to the PEAC National Secretariat, which in turn, shall forward these to DepEd Central Office Accounting Division. Failure of schools to issue official receipts shall cause the withholding of the following year's grant payments.

3. Overpayment to a school due to errors and mistakes in the ESC Billing Statements shall be refunded by the school only through check payment issued to the DepEd Central Office. The checks shall be submitted to the concerned PEAC RPCom, who shall acknowledge receipt of the checks and shall forward the same to the PEAC National Secretariat for consolidation and submission to the DepEd Central Office Accounting Division. Official receipts issued by the DepEd for cleared check refunds shall be turned over to the PEAC National Secretariat for delivery to the schools concerned. Failure by the school to do so shall cause, among others, the suspension of the school's admission of new ESC grantees.

V. Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS)

The following guidelines are issued to ensure the smooth implementation of the grant of the Teacher Salary Subsidy:

A. Coverage and Amount of Teacher Salary Subsidy

1. In support of Section 14 of RA 8545, a Teachers' Salary Subsidy Fund was established by the DepEd to grant salary subsidy to teachers in private secondary schools participating in the ESC program of GASTPE, provided that they meet all the following criteria: SDAaTC

a) Teachers teaching ESC grantees of an ESC-participating school a minimum of 180 minutes per week;

b) LET passers that were issued licenses by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) on or before August 15, 2016 as evidenced by;

(1) Photocopy of latest issued PRC license;

(2) Photocopy of LET Certificate of Rating

 Non-teaching staff are not entitled to the salary subsidy.

2. The amount of salary subsidy to qualified teachers shall be Eighteen Thousand Pesos (Php18,000)* per teacher per year, subject to adjustments by the SAC.

3. Teachers, who have resigned or retired from the service at the time of payment of the TSS due to health reasons and in accordance with school regulations, shall likewise be entitled to payment of the salary subsidy proportionate to actual services rendered. Unexpended subsidies must be returned to the DepEd and are not transferable to teachers not listed among those billed by the school for the school year. See Section IV.H.3 on how to return funds to the DepEd.

4. The DepEd or PEAC Secretariat reserves the right to verify the PRC licenses of teachers listed by participating schools to claim the TSS. Any false claims shall subject the school to a suspension of its entire TSS program support.

B. Procedure for paying TSS of Participating Private Schools

1. Schools shall submit to the PEAC RS, along with their ESC Billing Statements, a form indicating its certified list of licensed teachers and their PRC license numbers and other related information. The List of TSS Teachers may be downloaded and printed in the ESC IMS under "Print TSS Billing and List" link.

2. Upon receipt of the Teachers' Salary Subsidy payment, the head of the participating school shall prepare a payroll in five (5) copies, consisting of the following:

a) Name: of TSS recipients;

b) Corresponding PRC license number;

c) Amount received; and

d) Signature of recipients

3. The school payroll must bear the signatures of its authorized officials and the head of the faculty organization, or its equivalent, in said school. The payroll shall be submitted the following school year during submission of TSS Billing Statements to the PEAC RS. A copy of the School Payroll form may be downloaded in the ESC IMS under the Downloads link.

4. In case there is no faculty organization operating in the ESC participating private secondary school, the teachers whose names appear in the payroll prepared by school authorities shall elect an official representative who shall then witness the grant of TSS to qualified teachers.

5. Non-compliance with these guidelines by ESC participating schools shall be subject to sanctions that may include the withholding of the subsidy.

6. The DepEd Schools Division Office is tasked to monitor the smooth implementation of the TSS under the ESC Program and to report immediately to the DepEd Regional Office, cc: Central Office, all violations, if any, that have been committed by ESC participating private schools.

VI. Grounds for Penalties, Suspension and Termination of School Participation

A. Falsification of data or information in any of the program forms and related attachments.

The penalty for this shall be a minimum suspension of one (1) year whereby the school shall not be allowed to recruit freshman grantees.

B. Padding and/or inclusion of "ghost students" and unqualified teachers and/or "ghost teachers" in the list of billed ESC grantees and TSS teacher-beneficiaries that are discovered during a singular or joint PEAC Secretariat and DepEd field audit (monitoring) of the school.

This refers to any of the following:

1. For ESC Grantees:

a) A significant number of grantees billed by the school that are absent during a field audit (monitoring) visit of the school whose existence cannot be satisfactorily explained and supported by school officials;

b) Grantees billed under a specific school campus or unit and delivery mode, e.g., regular, night high school, etc. for which a certification rating has been issued but who are actually attending classes in a different school campus or unit or delivery mode;

c) Grantees listed as "enrolled" but who have not been attending classes since the opening of classes;

d) Grantees double-listed under the ESC program.

2. For TSS Beneficiaries:

a) A significant number of teachers billed by the school that are not qualified recipients of the TSS;

b) Teachers billed by the school whose existence as a teacher in the school is not evidenced by regular documents at the school.

The penalty for this shall be the return of funds to the DepEd equivalent to the amounts due for the "ghost students" and/or "ghost teachers" identified and the termination of school participation in the ESC program.

C. Charging grantees in excess of the school's tuition and other standard and non-standard fees.

The penalty shall be a documented return of the excess funds charged by the school and a 50% discount on any TSF differential the grantee has to pay the school the following school year.

D. A retention rate on the total number of Grade 7 ESC grantees below 80% except for reasons due to force majeure (e.g., calamities, armed conflict). Retention rate in Grade 7 refers to the number of Grade 7 grantees of the previous school year that are qualified grantees in Grade 8 of the current school year. Determination of retention rates shall begin in SY 2016-2017 and penalties shall apply on SY 2017-2018.

The penalty shall be the application of the percentage retention rate on total Grade 7 slot allocation. The penalty shall apply in the next school year.

For example, if the retention rate for SY 2016-2017 in Grade 7 is 75% and the total allocation is 100 slots (fixed, incentive, additional, less other penalties) in SY 2017-2018, the final allocation for SY 2017-2018 shall be 75 Grade 7 slots. Determination of penalties shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number.

E. Refusal to release transfer credentials to grantees that opt to transfer to other schools.

The penalty shall be a reduction in the total freshman slot allocation of the school by the number of grantees affected.

F. Requiring transferring grantees to pay for unattended school years.

The penalty shall be a reduction in the total freshman slot allocation by the number of affected grantees.

G. Schools with unresolved ownership disputes filed in court.

Once an ownership dispute is established through receipt of 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.

Payment for continuing grantees of the school shall be made only upon the written endorsement of the DepEd Regional Office after consulting its Legal Unit.

H. Schools unduly withholding TSS payments to qualified licensed teachers.

Sanctions may include a possible suspension of the TSS program of the school.

I. Schools which fail two consecutive re-certification visits are considered terminated from the program.

J. Schools which do not comply with procedural requirements as reported by the Monitoring Units and the PEAC National and Regional Secretariats are given a written warning. Should these violations be repeated, the school shall be penalized with a reduction of freshman slot allocation and a possible suspension for a minimum of one (1) year. acEHCD

VII. Contact Numbers and Addresses

A. Inquiries regarding GASTPE at the DepEd may be sent to the following contact numbers and addresses:

For billing concerns: DepEd Accounting Division

(02) 633-7961 and 633-7233[email protected]

For all other program concerns: DepEd Action Center

(02) 636-1663[email protected]

B. The PEAC National Secretariat may be reached at the following contact numbers and address:

PEAC National Secretariat (Main Office-Makati)(02) 845-0169 (Trunk Line)www.fape.org.ph

ESC IMS(02) 845-0169 loc. 131 to 133, 135

ESC Certification(02) 845-0169 loc. 160 to 162

ESC INSET(02) 845-0169 loc. 140 to 141