To:     Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Bureau and Service Directors
Regional Directors
Schools Division Superintendents
Public and Elementary Secondary Schools Heads
All Others Concerned

1. With the implementation of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Rationalization Plan, several offices were restructured, streamlined or dissolved, including the Bureau of Secondary Education, which previously managed the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE) Program.  Although the day to day administration of the GASTPE Program is contracted to the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), a focal unit is needed in the Central Office to manage policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring nationwide.
2. Pending the creation of a full-time unit that will manage the program, an interim Project Management Office (PMO) is established to ensure the smooth and streamlined implementation of the Program under the DepEd rationalized structure. The interim PMO or Composite Team will be comprised of members who have been actively involved in the implementation of the GASTPE Program.
3. The GASTPE Composite Team shall be composed of the following:

4. The GASTPE Composite Team shall be responsible for the overall policy development and program design of the GASTPE program. It shall perform the following functions:
   1. Coordinate with and perform monitoring and oversight functions on PEAC, the service provider that will support DepEd in implementing the ESC, TSS and SHS VP nationwide;
   2. Set the necessary policies and directives for the ESC, TSS and SHS VP, as well as issue and disseminate the necessary Orders/Memoranda 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, TSS and SHS VP are supported and provided for by their inclusion in the DepEd’s annual budget;
   4. Process and ensure the prompt release of the entitlements of the participating schools in the ESC, TSS and SHS VP with complete billing documents;
   5. Set the policy directions 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. Set the agenda and policy directions for the conduct of research and evaluation studies on the ESC, TSS and SHS VP;
   7. Conduct monitoring and evaluation activities and report to appropriate authorities, the performance of the ESC, TSS and SHS VP 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 sand TSS and its stakeholders; and
   8. Work with PEAC on the updating and management of the information systems for ESC and SHS VP, including provising access to data, documents and other information that are pertinent to the programs, such as status reports on the payment of grants to participating schools, and the Learner Information System (LIS).
5. Henceforth, all correspondences and pending disbursements for GASTPE School Year 2015-2016 shall pass through this interim GASTPE PMO. Payrolls and requests for payment shall be signed by the Program Manager to be approved for disbursement by the Undersecretary for Finance and Administration.
6. The GASTPE Composite Team shall continue to perform the above functions until the permanent GASTPE Project Managememt Service is established.
7. Immediate dissemination of and compliance with this Order is directed.

(Sgd.) BR. ARMIN A. LUISTRO FSC
Secretary

Reference: None

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
FUNDS
PROGRAM
STRAND: Governance and Operations
STUDENTS

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