CEAP ADVOCACY AGENDA

Mr. Neil Pariñas

Atty. Ulpiano Sarmiento III

Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines

Mandatory Religious Instruction Government Subsidy

to Private Education

RA 8545

House Bill No. 137

DepEd Order No. 26, s.2002

DECS Order No. 13, s.1998

Overview of the Session

• 10:30 Directed Reading of Documents

• 11:00 Citizen's Engagement in Policy Formulation
• 11:30 Open Forum
• 12:00 Workshop

FULL vs. MODIFIED
Voucher System

Who gets subsidy from the gov't? How much? In what type of school to enroll?

FULL Voucher System

• The government shall pay the participating private schools  the amount equivalent to the per student cost in the public schools for each qualified student grantee enrolled

o       around Ps5,500 (elementary level)

o       around Ps6,500 (secondary level)

• Recognition of the right of the student to

o       avail of basic education

o       be assisted by the government  regardless of  whether they  enroll in public or private schools

• The parents of students enrolled in private schools are  taxpayers who help finance the public schools, but whose children do  not enjoy  the benefit of free education (double taxation).
• In fairness to the said parents, the government must help provide financial assistance for the education of their children enrolled in private schools.
• The parents of students enrolled in private schools are  taxpayers who help finance the public schools, but whose children do  not enjoy  the benefit of free education (double taxation).
• In fairness to the said parents, the government must help provide financial assistance for  the education of their children enrolled in private schools.
• Voucher System offers the government a more  economical  way of financing basic education than

o       putting up more school buildings and classrooms and

o       hiring more  teachers to accommodate the increasing enrollment in public schools

CEAP STAND

• Pushing for the FULL voucher system is very ideal but unrealistic given our country's present economic situation.
• It is easier to amend an existing law (i.e., R.A. 8545) rather than propose a totally new legislation.

Modified Voucher System
(Republic Act No. 8545)

Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education

(E-GASTPE)  Act of 1998

Outline of R.A. 8545

§        Declaration of Policy (Why)

§        Criteria for Assistance (Who gets what)

§        Forms of Assistance (How much)

§        Program Administration (Who does what?)

• Appropriations
• Penalties
• Repealing, Separability, Effectivity Clauses

WHY THE SUBSIDY?

SEC. 2.  Declaration of Policy

• to promote and make quality education accessible to all Filipino citizens
• complementary roles of public and private educational institutions in the educational system
• invaluable contribution that the private schools have made and will make to education
• mechanisms to improve quality in private education by maximizing the use of existing resources

• government's responsibility to provide basic elementary and secondary education, post-secondary vocational and technical education and higher education as having priority over its other functions.

WHO GETS SUBSIDIZED?

SEC. 3.  Criteria for Assistance

• tuition fees charged by the schools
• socio-economic needs of each region giving priority to the Social Reform Agenda (SRA) provinces
• overall performance of the schools
• academic qualifications and the financial  needs of the students and the teachers
• financial needs of the schools
• geographic spread and size of student population
• family income is not more than Seventy-two thousand pesos (P72,000.00)
• students who are citizens of the Philippines

WHAT SUBSIDY AND HOW MUCH?

Forms of Assistance

SEC. 5. - Tuition Fee Supplements (TFS) for Students in Private High Schools

• TFS IS BEING PHASED OUT AT PRESENT
• CEAP PROPOSES THAT THIS SECTION ON TFS BE REPLACED BY SOMETHING ON THE VOUCHER SYSTEM
• CEAP PROPOSAL:       Voucher System (Sec. 5)
• The government  shall provide financial assistance for tuition and other school fees of qualified students in private elementary and secondary schools through a voucher system in the following manner:

a) For students enrolled in private schools charging not more than the per student cost in the public schools, the government shall pay them  with a voucher in an amount equivalent to the actual charges of the said schools.

b) For students enrolled in private schools charging more than the per student cost in the public schools, the government shall pay them with a voucher in an amount not exceeding the per student cost in the public schools.

   The students shall pay the balance of the school fees over  the amount provided by the voucher,  unless condoned by the school as its counterpart assistance to the students.

  In the selection of participating schools, priority shall be given to those schools that  are willing to condone  the  difference between the voucher amount and the school charges.

c) The government shall reimburse the vouchers from the schools concerned  within one hundred twenty (120) days from the close of the registration period.

SEC. 6.  High School Textbook Assistance Fund

• on a per student basis
• students enrolled in private schools
• exclusively for the purchase of high school textbooks
• shall not exceed what students in public high schools are provided on a per student basis

• Government shall shoulder the tuition and other fees of high school students who shall enroll in private high schools under this program.
• In communities where there are no public high schools, in which case the Department shall shoulder the tuition and other fees of students who shall enroll in said private schools.
• The amount  of assistance to be given by the government under this section shall not exceed that determined as the per student cost in public high schools.
• The Department shall fully pay the subsidized amount to participating schools not later than one hundred eighty (180) days from the close of the registration period.
• Assistance to be allocated and distributed among the sixteen (16) regions in proportion to the total population as well as the high school age population for the first school year.
• The State Assistance Council may, in subsequent years determine additional slots and/or additional participating private high schools as may be deemed necessary.

SEC. 11

• The right of any student to avail himself/ herself of the benefits under this Act shall not apply if he/she fails for one (1) school year in the majority of the academic subjects in which he/she has enrolled during the course of his/her study unless such failure is due to some valid cause beyond his/her control.

SEC. 12. In-service Training Fund (Inset Fund)

• for the upgrading of knowledge and teaching competencies in critical subject areas
• for the modernization of teaching techniques and strategies

• training in the use of computers and of other multi-media educational technologies to assist instruction
• available only to qualified licensed teachers in participating private high schools

SEC. 13.  College Faculty Development Fund

• CEAP proposes that this be added:
• Scholarships for qualified elementary and secondary teachers enrolled in quality graduate programs.

SEC. 14.  Teachers' Salary Subsidy Fund

• To grant government subsidy to teachers in private high schools participating in the programs of assistance provide in this Act
• The total monthly salary which includes the subsidy to be received by such private high school teachers shall not be more than eighty percent (80%) of the  salary of his counterpart in the public sector.
• The amount of monthly subsidy shall not exceed the amount of any monthly salary increase that teachers in public high schools shall receive.
• Private high school teachers qualified to receive subsidy  under this Act are duly licensed by the Professional Regulation Commission.
• The government shall provide them with a voucher for the salary subsidy which shall be reimbursed directly to the teachers within sixty (60) days after the close of the school year upon submission of proof of qualification and actual teaching service in a participating private high school.
• The present allocation out of increases from tuition and other income shall be maintained.
• In case of insufficiency of funds, priority shall be given to married teachers supporting a family.

SEC. 15. Program Administration/Rules and Regulations

• The State Assistance Council shall be responsible for policy guidance and direction, monitoring and evaluation of new and existing programs, and the promulgation of the rules and regulations.
• Mr. Piamonte is a SAC member.
• The Department of Education, TESDA and CHED shall be responsible of the day to day administration and program implementation for the programs of assistance to private secondary education, post-secondary vocational and technical education and higher education, respectively
• Likewise, it may engage the services and support of any qualified government or private entity (e.g., FAPE - Fund for Assistance to Private Education) for its implementation.
• The State Assistance Council, hereinafter known as the Council, shall be headed by the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports as chairperson, the chairperson of the CHED and the director-general of the TESDA as co-chairpersons.
• .with representatives from the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Science and Technology, and representatives from duly organized nationwide associations of teachers, students, parents, and school administrators concerned with secondary, post-secondary vocational and technical education and higher education as members.
• The last three (3) members shall be appointed by the Council upon the recommendation of their respective sectors fro a term of one (1) school year subject to re-appointment for a maximum term of four (4) school years.
• A representative each from the Committees on Education of both Houses of Congress shall be designated resource persons to the Council.
• The Council shall meet, from time to time, as the need arises, to assess the effectivity of the programs and to ensure that the secondary schools, post-secondary vocational and technical institutions and higher educational institutions where student recipients are enrolled continue to provide quality education.
• For this purpose, the Council shall establish criteria, to determine which secondary schools, post-secondary vocational and technical institutions and higher educational institutions may continue to enroll students and teachers/faculty as recipients of government assistance under this Act.

SEC. 16.  Appropriations

• The appropriation of One billion pesos (P1,000,000,000.00) already appropriated under the General Appropriations Acts of 1998 shall be used for this purpose.
• All funds appropriated for this purpose shall be constituted as a trust fund to be administered by the State Assistance Council, which shall be directly and automatically released to the different regional offices of the DECS.

SEC. 17. Penalties

• In case of violations of the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto by an institution, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, the TESDA and the CHED, upon the recommendation of the council, may bar the institution from participating in or benefiting from the programs of this Act, and from other programs of the Department, without prejudice to administrative and criminal charges as may be filed against the school and/or its responsible officers under existing laws.

SEC. 21.  Effectivity Clause

• This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 10462 and Senate Bill No. 2497 was finally passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on February 6, 1998.
• Approved: February 24, 1998

MANDATORY RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION

House Bill No. 137

DepEd Order No. 26, s.2002

DECS Order No. 120, s.1999

DECS Order No. 13, s.1998

Constitutional Provision

• "At the option expressed in writing by the parents or guardians, Religion shall be allowed to be taught to their children or wards in public elementary and high schools within the regular class hours, without additional cost to the government."  Article XIV, Section 3, Paragraph 3

Declaration of Policy

• .citizen formation. particularly the molding of our youth
• .through religious instruction. in public schools
• Separation of Church and State, i.e. government should not
• favor a particular establishment or religion
• Prohibit the free exercise of religion

Optional Religious Instruction

• .for students/pupils whose parents opted to exercise their right to request religious instructions for their children.
• .parents.are free to request or not to request.
• .not an option for the Principal/school heads to either accept or reject the formal request of the parents.

Religious Teachers/Instructors

• .shall be formally sourced or recruited by the respective Principal/ School Head
• DepEd Order No. 26, s.2002
• .shall be designated by their respective religious authorities and
• .shall submit to the principal.proper authorization papers. House Bill No. 137

Recipient of Religious Instruction

• .option to request.shall be expressed in writing by the parent.accomplish in full the necessary application form.
• No request and no form =  no religious instruction!

The Application

•  shall indicate:
• The faith or religious instruction
• Preferred schedule for religious instruction

Non-Recipient of Religious Instruction

• During the religion classes, the class adviser shall supervise
• Students not receiving religious instruction
• Those w/ request but without teacher for the particular denomination

Schedule

• During regular class hours
• Not before class time
• Not after class time
• Not during recess time

Class Size

• Should be not more than 40 students of the same
• level
• Religion
• .except where the religious authority certifies that his teacher can handle 41 and above due to its
• practicality, availability of the time slot, schedule of teachers, classroom materials, etc.

Class Size (H.B. 137)

• The Principal/School Head shall divide the students into two or more classes after consulting the religious authorities of that faith.

Duration (DepEd Order No. 26, s.2002)

• At least ninety (90) minutes a week
• Spread over at least two (2) to three (3) meetings per week

Duration  (H.B. 137)

• At least sixty (60) minutes a week
• Spread over at least two (2) to three (3) meetings per week

O.R.I. & Values Educ.

• O.R.I. & V.E. are separate, different and distinct subjects
• O.R.I. shall be allotted separate class hours
• Available time slots for O.R.I. should be arranged with the Principal

Administrative Sanctions

• Violation of any provision = appropriate disciplinary sanctions

• What must be done?
• Things that cannot wait
• Advocacy
• What help can I provide?
• Human resources
• Material resources
• Technical expertise

Mechanics:

1. Kindly get your writing pad.

2. Please write the following information:

• Name: _______________________
• Cellphone Number:  ____________
• Tel./Fax Number/s:  ____________
• Email Address: ________________
• Concerns Addressed to: _________
• (SAC, FAPE, PhilCARE, DepEd, etc.)

3. Please write your ideas about the following:

• Things that cannot wait
• E-GASTPE
• Religious Instruction in Public Schools
• Advocacy
• E-GASTPE
• Religious Instruction in Public Schools

§        Examples of things that cannot wait re: E-GASTPE

o       ESC releases - No batch number yet

o       Name of School

o       Address

o       Contact Nos.

o       Other Concerns

o       Request for increase in slots

o       Concerns regarding FAPE-DepEd certification process

§        Examples: things that cannot wait - Religious Instruction

o       Refusal/non-cooperation by the Principal/School Head

o       Name of Principal

o       School

o       Location

o       Problem with schedules/class size

o       Request for materials, equipment, training (please specify)

§        Advocacy on E-GASTPE

o       Which do you prefer: full or modified voucher system?  Why?

o       What provisions in R.A. 8545 would you like to amend?

              Please specify your proposed amendment/s.

§        Advocacy on Religious Instruction in Public Schools

o       Are you in favor of going beyond the "spirit" of H.B. 137/DepEd               Order No. 26, series of 2002 and move towards mandatory                religious instruction in public schools?

o       Why or why not?

o       What provisions do you suggest in the framing of the bill?                       Please specify.

§        Advocacy on Religious Instruction in Public Schools

o       What provisions do you suggest in the framing of the bill?                       Please specify.

·        Teachers, Students

·        Class Size, Schedule, Duration

·        Procedures, Sanctions

4.  How can you help in our advocacy efforts in terms of the following?

§         Human resources

§         Material resources

§         Technical expertise