Heads up, incoming Grade 11 students! DepEd has finally released the results of the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS VP) last Monday, June 24.
The Senior High School program, as part of the K-12 system, was in full implementation last S.Y. 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 for Grades 11 and 12 respectively. As mandated under RA 10533, DepEd included the Voucher Program as “a mechanism to provide financial support to qualified students in SHS”. As such, the SHS VP is meant to be a long-term program of DepEd.
The Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) currently administers the VP. PEAC is the trustee of the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE), a perpetual fund created to provide assistance to private education in the country.
Students from the different regions in the country can apply through the Online Voucher Application Portal (OVAP). The OVAP allows any applicant to register and easily apply online to the Voucher Program.
For online applicants, they need to login their accounts and check if they qualify. Manual applicants can use the Search tool found in OVAP for the results. The Qualified Voucher Applicants (QVAs) must download their respective QVA certificate from the portal.
The certificate serves as proof of qualification and shall be submitted to the student’s school, university or college of choice upon SHS enrollment. Also, the voucher is only valid for two (2) years regardless of how long the applicant finishes SHS. The program covers the learner’s tuition and miscellaneous school fees. However, if the costs exceed the voucher amount, the student automatically reimburse the additional fees.
ALS A&E and PEPT applicants who qualify are also entitled of the program benefits. But only those who passed the A&E/PEPT exam in 2018-2019 and are eligible for SHS enrollment can acquire the voucher certification. They must follow the same process as stated above. In addition, passers must submit a Certificate of Rating (COR) during enrollment.
References from Rappler and PEAC