Philippine constitution declares that basic education is guaranteed to be available and free for everyone regardless of any ethnic, religious and social background. This same constitution signifies that learning through formal and non-formal public education is a right and will never become a privilege. Thus, any person who is being deprived of this basic tenet is entitled to reaffirm his benefits subject to the mentioned standard given by the highest authority of the republic. But, as stated above, this is limited to public schools where the funds for teachers’ salaries, infrastructures, school materials, books and supplies come from the national government duly approved by the congress. By this case any private school is not covered by this ultimate edict on education. Therefore, the law requiring basic education to be a right and not a privilege only applies to public schools and never on private institutions, right?
Wrong!
This year is different. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo moves a step further to one of the most definitive decision ever completed in the history of Philippine education. Upcoming high school freshmen for this year 2006-2007 will now define education as a right and not a mere privilege upside down… and a plus. This new and timely move is called the EVS or the EDUCATION VOUCHER SYSTEM. The definition is a right and a privilege rolled into one. They will now take on to a right-made-privilege by the government as they will become scholars who will receive check certificates (vouchers) amounting to four thousand pesos (Php4000.00) to be used as tuition fees to any private school of their choice. This monetary assistance will be provided every year until the recipient completes high school – a whooping four years of scholarship!
In the said system, an envelop containing a voucher, a certificate of enrollment and billing statement, and a program instruction will be given to qualified public elementary graduates. The envelop together with the certification coming from the principal of the recipient’s former school
The point here is that students who could not afford the pricy privilege of a private school can now enroll and then savor the private instructions previously enjoyed by few who belong to families in the middle and upper class society. Another point is that only the privileged few can enjoy the benefit of private schools is now becoming a myth out of the present day to day reality stating that Philippine education is struggling for survival. While news reports and commentaries show an educational system with bluster of negativity, here comes a new system to the rescue of taking the promotion of reforms necessary to move the education into greater heights.
EVS provides two basic objectives as stated in the program instruction: 1) To provide and maintain a system of financial assistance to improve access for underprivileged public elementary school graduates, Philippine Education Placement Test (PTEP) and Alternative Learning Systems (ALS), Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) qualifiers, and out-of-school youth elementary graduates who wish to pursue high school education in a private school; and, 2) To help alleviate the problem of excess enrollment in the public schools, thereby contributing to the improvement of quality of public secondary education.
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