Government Assistance

to Students and
Teachers in Private
Education

Updates on the
Implementation of
GASTPE Program
• The Educational Service
Contracting scheme, or ESC, is
a program provided for by
Republic Act 8545 (amending
R.A. 6728), or the “Expanded
Government Assistance to
Students and Teachers in
Private Education, or GASTPE.
• Its main objective is to
decongest public secondary
schools by “contracting” the
excess capacities of private
high schools through the
provision of subsidies for
students who, otherwise, would
have gone to the public high
schools.
• The ESC was a response to
stresses and strains at the high
school level in both the public
and private school sectors in
the ‘70s up to the mid-80s.
• With the looming congestion
problem, the Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sports
(MECS) commissioned FAPE to
conduct a feasibility study on
the ESC and later pilot trials in
Region VIII, in coordination
with the Eastern Visayas
Association of Private Schools
(EVAPS),
 and in Region XII, in
coordination with the Notre
Dame Educational Association
(NDEA).
• The results showed that the
ESC was a cost-effective way of
delivering education.
• In recognition of its viability,
the ESC was allocated five
million pesos in the 1986
budget as one of the thrusts of
the Ministry of Education. In
the 1987-1992 Philippine
Development Plan, it was
identified as a strategy in
providing equitable access to
education.
• The ESC was institutionalized as
one of the GASTPE programs in
1989.
• For over 20 years, the ESC has
been on a fast-forward growth.
In 2011-2012, the ESC budget
amounted to 3.61 billion that
enabled 634,860 students to
study in 2,860 participating
secondary schools.
• The ESC is a concrete
demonstration of a strong
private-public sector
partnership in making
secondary education accessible
to Filipino children.
 Education Service
Contracting
• Given to elementary graduates who
opt to enroll in private high schools
• Shall start at Grade 7
• Covers four (4) years of junior high
school
• Difference between the ESC grant
and a private school’s total school
fees is shouldered by the grantee
ESC Grant For SY 2018-2019
The following grant per level
applies:
ESC Grants

Level Regions outside NCR

Grade 7 Php9,000
Grade 8 Php9,000
Grade 9 Php8,500
Grade 10 Php8,500
 ESC Grade 7 Slot Allocation
to Participating Schools
Fixed Slot Allocation
• Equal to actual no. of Grade 7 ESC
grantees last SY
• no adverse findings in last monitoring
• demonstrated capacity to utilize slots
Incentive Slot Allocation
• Level II and above accredited schools –
plus 60
 ESC Grantee Selection
• Preference shall be given to public
elementary graduates
• Preference is also be given to
students who need financial
assistance (RA 10533 EGASTPE)
• A School Committee (SC) screen
and prepare each applicant’s profile
as basis for selection
•SC is chaired by the principal with a
representative each from PTA and
faculty association as members
• SC assesses and selects applicants’
need and capability to sustain
secondary education in the school
 Conditions for ESC Grantees
to Maintain their Grant
• ESC is Government financial
assistance to grantees, no
maintaining grade is required
• Grantee promotion to next year
level assures him/her of continued
support through ESC grant
 The grant is terminated for
any one of the following
situations:
• Grantee drops out for non-health
reasons in the middle of the school
year
• Grantee is retained in the same
year level or is not promoted to the
next higher year level
• Grantee is suspended for more than
2 weeks, or is dismissed or expelled
by the school for disciplinary
violation
• Grantee transfers to a non-ESC
participating school
 Guidelines on grantee
transfers
• Outside the NCR into the NCR is
not allowed
• Outside NCR to another school
outside NCR is permitted
• NCR to outside NCR is permitted
but subsidy is reduced
• If transfer is before July 15, subsidy
is paid to the school the grantee
transferred to
• If transfer is after July 15, subsidy
is paid to school of origin and
grantee has to pay tuition and
other fees in school he/she
transferred to for that year
 A Grantee’s Transfer is
valid when:
• School of origin gives written
certification that the grantee is a
student of the school indicating the
schools ID number as well as the
student ID number and submits this
to the new/receiving school