SENIOR HIGH. Parents of XU Senior High School students attend the orientation on DepEd’s SHS voucher program on July 8. Contributed photo.
By Jade Alfie Sale
Xavier Ateneo Senior High School parents of Qualified Voucher Recipients (QVR), school administrators, and class moderators drew together at the orientation on the SHS voucher program of the Department of Education, held at the university covered courts on July 8.
XU vice-president for basic education Dr Dulce R Dawang served as the key speaker of the orientation. Her talk centered on three main points: (1) Student's eligibility for the SHS voucher, wherein grade 10 SY2016-2017 completers are given automatic entitlement; (2) Applicability of vouchers given to private SHS providers with DepEd permit, including state universities and colleges with SHS; and (3) Qualified beneficiaries are automatically included in the SHS Voucher Management System of DepEd.
The rates of the vouchers differ from the location of the senior high school where the student is enrolled.
“This program is very important, even for us who are from Camiguin. I went here at XU because I want to know if my child is really eligible for this program and what are the requirements to be submitted to qualify,” Mary Jane Bato, mother of a grade 11 student of XU Senior High, said in Binisaya.
Cagayan de Oro City, where XU is situated, is under Non-NCR Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs), wherein voucher recipients from DepEd Junior High Schools will receive a full voucher amount of PhP20,000. Voucher recipients from private JHS will receive 80% or PhP16,000, while those enrolled in SUCs/LUCs, regardless if they completed JHS in a public or private school, will receive 50% or PhP10,000.
Other relevant topics on QVR also discussed at the orientation, including the required documents to be submitted by the beneficiaries, how payments are done, reasons for disqualification, voucher program beneficiary transfers, shifting tracks or strands, and the validity period of the voucher.
According to DepEd, through the QVR, 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. It enables students to claim a “discount” or a deduction from the cost of tuition and other fees of the school. The voucher subsidy is not given to students directly in the form of cash but will be disbursed by DepEd to the non-DepEd senior high school.∎
For more information on DepEd's senior high voucher program, visit this page.