Makati City— The Department of Education (DepEd), through its Government Assistance and Subsidies Service (GASS) Office, held a soft launch and stakeholder consultation on the draft Revised Guidelines for the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE) on Thursday at the DepEd-Office of the Secretary in Makati City.
The consultation gathered representatives from private school advocacy groups and national educational associations to review proposed reforms aimed at strengthening the implementation of government subsidies in private basic education. The initiative is anchored on Republic Act No. 6728, as amended by Republic Act No. 8545, collectively known as the E-GASTPE Act, and is aligned with relevant DepEd issuances governing financial assistance and subsidy programs.
Facilitated by the GASS–Policy Review and Development Division, the meeting was led by Project Development Officer Mr. Marlon B. Custodio. He underscored that the revised guidelines seek to establish harmonized standards and procedures across the Education Service Contracting (ESC), Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS-VP), and Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS) components of E-GASTPE.
Strengthening Governance and Targeting
Central to the proposed reforms is a socio-economic targeting and prioritization mechanism designed to ensure that subsidies are granted primarily to learners from poor to lower-middle income households. The draft guidelines introduce standardized ESC grantee and voucher selection processes based on income classification and category ranking, as well as need-based inclusion of upper-grade levels where warranted.
Among the key policy features presented were:
• Recognition requirements for Senior High Schools participating in the voucher program
• An increase in Teacher Salary Subsidy (TSS) amounts
• Mandatory National ID requirement for learner verification beginning School Year 2029–2030
• Strengthened validation mechanisms to ensure the integrity of billing documents
• Clearly defined program violations and corresponding sanctions
• Streamlined investigatory procedures across governance levels
• A robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system to track compliance and measure outcomes
• Defined processes for school reinstatement
• Publication of beneficiary lists on the DepEd website to promote transparency
DepEd officials emphasized that these reforms are intended to reinforce planning, financial management, monitoring, and evaluation systems, while clarifying the responsibilities of DepEd offices, the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC), and participating schools. The overall goal is to improve program governance and service delivery while safeguarding public funds.
Consultation Objectives and Expected Outputs
The consultation aimed to present key policy reforms under the draft revised guidelines and gather inputs from private education associations on the operational feasibility of eligibility criteria, participation requirements, and quality assurance provisions. Stakeholders were also asked to identify implementation risks, transition concerns, and capacity considerations related to recognition, certification, and monitoring requirements.
Expected outputs from the meeting include a consolidated stakeholder inputs matrix, a summary of policy clarifications and agreements, an attendance and consultation documentation report, and a set of action points and timelines to guide the finalization and issuance of the revised guidelines.
CEAP Participation
The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) was represented by its Executive Director, Mr. Narcy Ador Dionisio, and Advocacy and Public Engagement Officer, Ms. Charina Claustro. CEAP joined other private education stakeholders in providing policy feedback, particularly on issues affecting school compliance capacity, transition timelines, equitable access for learners and quality assurance.
The consultation forms part of DepEd’s broader effort to ensure that E-GASTPE remains responsive to current socio-economic realities while upholding the constitutional principle of complementarity between public and private education. With millions of Filipino learners enrolled in private basic education institutions, stakeholders acknowledged that effective and transparent implementation of E-GASTPE is critical to sustaining access, equity, and quality across the education sector.
DepEd is expected to consolidate stakeholder inputs in the coming weeks, with the final issuance of the revised E-GASTPE Guidelines targeted before the next program cycle.