City of San Fernando, Pampanga—Aside from the qualified Grade 10 student applicants for the Senior High School Voucher Program for School Year 2018-2019, students who passed the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E Test) are now also eligible to apply for financial subsidy and pursue SHS in non-DepEd schools and institutions.

Students who passed the A&E Test and the Philippine Education Placement Test (PEPT) in the current school year and have been certified for admission to Grade 11 in SY 2018‐2019, provided that they received their certification not later than May 31, 2018, may now apply for the SHS VP through the manual application procedure. The Certificate of Eligibility to enroll in Grade 11 is an additional requirement for ALS and PEPT passers. The deadline for receipt of manual applications for ALS and PEPT passers is on June 15 and the release of results will be on June 29.

Meanwhile, Grade 10 completers from private high schools who are not yet Education Service Contracting (ESC) grantees and who wish to pursue Senior High School (SHS) in private schools and other non-DepEd institutions have until January 31 to apply for the SHS Voucher Program using the manual application and February 28 for online mode of application.

Public Grade 10 completers and Grade 10 completers who are Education Service Contracting (ESC) grantees in private JHS are automatically qualified voucher recipients and need not apply for an SHS Voucher.
For the online processing, interested applicants simply need to download and fill out the application form from the Online Voucher Application Portal (OVAP) http://ovap.deped.gov.ph and submit the fully accomplished application form and supporting documents to voucher.application@fape.org.ph. Documentary requirements include 2×2 ID photo, proof of financial means of the parents, guardian, or the person who is helping send the student to school, and Certificate of Financial Assistance received (issued by the school), if applicable. One needs to digitize or scan all the required documents and submit one scanned file per document.

For the manual application, applicants may obtain and fill out the Voucher Application Form at DepEd Schools Division Offices, JHSs, and non‐DepEd SHSs. Enclose all required documents and send through courier or mail to the SHS Voucher Program Applications, PEAC National Secretariat located at 5th Floor Salamin Building, 197 Salcedo Street Makati City 1229.

Applicants will be notified of the results and the list of Qualified Voucher Recipients (QVR) will be posted on OVAP on March 31.

The voucher amount varies for a Grade 10 completer in a public JHS (100% voucher value) and from a private JHS (80% voucher value). The voucher amounts also vary based on location of the SHS taking into consideration the different cost of education in the locality. In Central Luzon, the cost of the SHS Voucher amounts to P17,500 while the SHS Vouchers in Angeles City and Olongapo City which are highly-urbanized cities (HUCs) amount to P20,000.

Through the Voucher Program, students and their families are able to exercise greater choice in deciding the Senior High School program that is most relevant to their needs and career goals.
The voucher enables students to claim a “discount” or a deduction from the cost of tuition and other fees charged by a non-DepEd SHS where he or she will enroll. The voucher subsidy is not given to students directly in the form of cash but will be disbursed by DepEd to the non-DepEd SHS where he or she enrolls.•