By Phoebe Salvador
Eagle News Service
(Eagle News) — The Department of Education (DepEd) released the results of the second batch of Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS VP) applications, including applicants with status of “reviewed, for further evaluation” last May 25.
The DepEd said all applicants who completed and submitted their applications from April 3 to 27 may now check the results and download their Qualified Voucher Applicants (QVA) certificates (formerly called Qualified Voucher Recipient (QVR) certificates) by logging in to their account on the Online Voucher Application Portal (OVAP) at http://ovap.deped.gov.ph/.
The QVA certificates shall then be submitted to the non-DepEd senior high schools where the applicants will enroll, including private schools, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local universities and colleges (LUCs).
DepEd Order 60 emphasized that the vouchers must be redeemed this coming school year 2018-2019 immediately after Grade 10 completion as these shall no longer be valid if not redeemed by August 31, 2018.
“The vouchers cover two years regardless of the number of years it takes for the recipient to complete SHS,” it added.
The SHS VP is a program of financial assistance being implemented in support of Republic Act 10533 or the K to 12 reform agenda of the government. It is deemed one of the several initiatives to make basic education accessible and affordable for Filipino learners nationwide.
The program aims to enable qualified Grade 10 completers to pursue their desired SHS education by providing them subsidy on their tuition and other school fees– the amount of which will depend on the category of the QVA, and the location of the school where they will enroll.
The DepEd earlier reported that in the previous school year, about 1,207,416 SHS VP beneficiaries received financial subsidies, which amounted to P20,692,903,776 in total. This comprised the largest part of the overall amount of financial subsidies the DepEd supplemented, which was P21,567,932,876.