Implementing Guidelines for ESC and TFS SY 2000-2001

Legal basis and program foundation

Republic Act No. 8545 (amending Republic Act No. 6728) establishes the declared policy to promote and make quality education accessible to all Filipino citizens in conformity with the Constitution.
Republic Act No. 8545 recognizes the complementary roles of public and private schools in the educational system, especially the contribution of private schools.
The ESC scheme is entered into through contracts between the Government and a private school under DECS Order No. 22, s. 1992, formerly managed by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) through the Bureau of Secondary Education.
The ESC and TFS programs for SY 2000-2001 are administered by the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE).
The TFS program is based on Republic Act No. 8545 and is administered through FAPE for SY 2000-2001.

Esc: purpose, eligibility, and coverage

Educational Service Contracting (ESC) allows the Government and a private school to enter into a contract to accommodate student-grantees in the private school.
Under ESC, the Government pays the tuition and other school fees of the grantees.
ESC applies in communities where only a private school is available to deliver education service, subject to the school meeting prescribed requirements, approval of the Regional Director, and availability of funds.
Any duly recognized private high school in the student’s area of residence may participate in ESC.
ESC prioritizes student applicants whose family income is below the poverty line as defined by NEDA (1997: P72,000 per annum).

Esc: program management structure

The State Assistance Council (SAC) provides policy, guidance, direction, monitoring, evaluation, and promulgates rules and regulations of GASTPE programs under the ESC framework.
FAPE implements SAC policies, rules, and regulations for ESC.
The ESC Unit of FAPE supervises, monitors, and oversees ESC implementation in all participating private schools; sends written communications to Regional Project Committees (RPCs); collects and interprets ESC data from RPC reports when needed; and evaluates ESC implementation.
The ESC National Executive Committee includes the Secretary of Education as Chair, an Undersecretary for Programs/Projects and Regional Operations, the Director of the Bureau of Secondary Education (DECS), and the President of FAPE as members.
The ESC National Secretariat consists of the FAPE Director for Externally Funded Programs as Project Director and project staff designated by the President of FAPE.
The Regional Project Committee (RPC) includes the DECS Regional Director as Chair, the Regional Chief of Secondary Education Division and Regional COCOPEA Representative as co-chairs, and a private school representative as member.
At the division level, the Division Project Committee (DPC) handles ESC, with the Division Superintendent as Chair, a duly appointed Division ESC Coordinator and COCOPEA as co-chairs.

Esc: substantive rules and limits

ESC payment per student grantee for SY 2000-2001 is the rate prescribed by the school for other students but may not exceed P2,500.
ESC tuition payments are subject to the annual tuition and other school fees actually charged by the school up to a maximum of P2500 for a student’s ESC coverage.
For SY 2000-2001, new ESC entrants are allocated using a quota system determined by the Regional Director based on the school’s capability, including physical facilities and the number of teachers.
Dropouts may be replaced for SY 2000-2001 provided that the number of ESC slots maintained in SY 1999-2000 is preserved.
First-year ESC applicants enroll on a first-come-first-accepted basis upon presentation of the applicant’s elementary report card to the high school principal.
ESC grantees are treated as bonafide students of the participating private school and are subject to the school’s rules and regulations.
ESC grantees must meet minimum requirements for promotion under DECS rules; failure terminates ESC privileges.
If a participating private school charges tuition and other school fees beyond the ceiling of P2500, the school may collect the balance from the ESC grantee only if the student is notified and parental consent is obtained.
In municipalities where no public school exists and private school is the only available educational service, ESC may extend to all students of the private school subject to availability of funds; priority is given to residents of the community with income below the NEDA poverty line.
Acceptance of new participating schools depends on availability of funds and is subject to approval of the National Executive Committee for SY 2000-2001.
Schools may be excluded from ESC when they do not comply with ESC guidelines, have a high dropout rate, and have congested classrooms and inadequate support facilities.
In case of dispute over ownership of a participating school, the RPC may recommend holding the ESC/TFS grant for the current year in escrow and suspending the school’s participation in succeeding school year(s) until the dispute is settled.

Esc: applications, MOAs, deadlines, and payments

The private high school principal prepares the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and supporting documents for review and processing by the Division Project Committee.
Supporting documents for ESC MOA processing include:
- ESC Form 3 or the List of Selected Student Participants (LSSP),
- Form 4 or List of Continuing Contract Students by Year Level (LCCSYL),
- ESC Form 5 or Year-End Status Report submitted on the 15th of the following month after school closes,
- ESC Form 6 or Certification of Tuition Fees and Other Fees Charged, duly signed by the Regional Director.
The school must submit its ESC MOA and complete supporting documents to the Division Project Committee on or before June 30, 2000, and every 30th day of June thereafter.
ESC MOA and application processing is conducted by the RPC-FAPE counterpart reviewing and endorsing to the RPC-DECS through the Chief of the Secondary Education Division for review and DECS Regional Director signature.
The deadline for submission of ESC applications and MOAs to DECS Regional Offices is August 31, 2000.
If the DECS Regional Director is unavailable, a designated DECS officer (preferably the SED Chief) signs on the Director’s behalf to facilitate forwarding to the ESC/TFS National Secretariat for final review and processing.
The ESC National Secretariat receives MOAs under a duplicate covering transmittal slip, acknowledges receipt, and records MOAs by school within a division and region.
The ESC National Secretariat issues payment requests to FAPE’s Accounting Department for the first 50% of the contract amount, payable within 45 days after receipt of the MOA, provided funds are released by DECS to FAPE.
Upon check release, the National Secretariat informs DECSROs by post of the release date, payment amounts, and check number; after receipt of the full amount from DECS, it arranges payment of the balance due to schools in accordance with MOA stipulations.
Checks are issued in the name of the ESC participant school for release to the official school representative or the designated representative on ESC matters.

Esc: dropout/transferee refunds and penalties

When an ESC grantee drops out or transfers within the year, the Government through FAPE pays the school percentages of the subsidy based on timing:
- 10% if drop-out or transfer occurs within the first week after classes start,
- 20% if drop-out or transfer occurs after the first week or within the second week after classes start, regardless of actual attendance, with reference to Section 66: Tuition Charges of the Manual of Regulations for Private Schools, 8th Edition, 1992,
- 50% if drop-out or transfer occurs after the second week or within the third week after classes start,
- 100% if drop-out or transfer occurs anytime after the third week after classes start.
ESC participating schools must refund to the ESC National Secretariat at FAPE the payments for grantees that drop out or transfer.
ESC participating schools must furnish the ESC National Secretariat the official drop-out or transfer form, duly certified under oath.
If there are violations such as (1) discrimination against the poor/disadvantaged ESC enrollees, (2) padding of enrolment register, and (3) adjustment in tuition fees to accommodate the ESC tuition fee ceiling, DECS upon recommendation of SAC may ban the institution(s) from participating in or benefitting from GASTPE programs and other Department programs.
The ESC ban does not prejudice administrative and criminal charges that may be filed against the institution and/or its responsible officers under existing laws.

Tfs: purpose, eligibility, and coverage

Tuition Fee Supplement (TFS) is a subsidy given by the government in the amount of P500 per student enrolled in a qualified private secondary school.
A TFS private school must have charged tuition and other school fees not higher than the ceiling of P3500 inclusive of the subsidy for SY 1999-2000.
A student can be a recipient of either ESC or TFS.
Any private high school charging tuition and other fees not higher than the P3500 ceiling inclusive of the subsidy for SY 1999-2000 shall register and apply for subsidy with the DPC on or before June 30, 2000 and every year thereafter.

Tfs: program management, substantive limits, and disqualification

SAC is responsible for policy guidance and direction, monitoring, evaluation, and promulgation of rules and regulations of the TFS program.
FAPE implements SAC policies, rules, and regulations for TFS.
The ESC/TFS Unit of FAPE supervises, monitors, and oversees TFS implementation in all participating private schools; sends written communications to RPCs on DECS guidelines and policies; collects, collates, and interprets TFS data from RPC reports and makes periodic reports; and evaluates TFS implementation.
The TFS National Executive Committee includes the Secretary of Education as Chair, the Undersecretary for Programs/Projects and Regional Operations, the Director of the Bureau of Secondary Education (DECS), and the President of FAPE as members.
The TFS National Secretariat is composed of the FAPE Director for Externally Funded Programs as Project Director and project staff designated by the President of FAPE.
The Regional Project Committee (RPC) for TFS has the same membership structure: DECS Regional Director as Chair, Regional Chief of Secondary Education Division and Regional COCOPEA representative as co-chairs, and a private school representative as member.
At the division level, the Division Project Committee has the Division Superintendent as Chair, a duly appointed Division TFS Coordinator and COCOPEA representative as co-chairs.
An awardee is disqualified from TFS benefits if:
- the awardee fails in the majority (5 or more) academic subjects enrolled during the course of study unless failure is due to a valid cause; and
- the awardee transfers residence outside the region.

Tfs: MOAs, evaluation, allocation rules, and payments

Once a private school qualifies for TFS, it submits 5 sets of TFS Form 1 (Tuition and Other Fees Supplement Voucher) and 5 sets of TFS for 1-A (Schedule of Tuition and Other Fees) together with a Memorandum of Agreement with FAPE.
The DPC evaluates and reviews the MOA and supporting documents and endorses the private school for TFS to the RPC-FAPE.
The DPC includes the school in its Summary Report of TFS participating schools and endorses to the RPC-FAPE TFS Form 2, a duly certified list of TFS participating schools by Division and by school indicating the number of grantees by year level and the total amount claimed.
The Division Finance Officer and Schools Division Superintendent must duly certify the TFS Form 2 report.
The DPC submits the report to the RPC, copy furnished the TFS National Secretariat, not later than July 25, 2000, and every year thereafter.
Allocation of proceeds under the statutory allocation rule requires that:
- 70% of the subsidized amount allotted to tuition fee or of tuition fee increases goes to salaries, wages, allowances, and other benefits of teaching and non-teaching personnel except administrators who are principal stockholders of the school;
- the proceeds may be used to cover increases provided for in a collective bargaining agreement existing or in force at the time the Act was approved and made effective; and
- government subsidies are not used directly for salaries of teachers of non-secular subjects.
A minimum of 20% goes to improvement or modernization of buildings, equipment, libraries, laboratories, gymnasium and similar facilities, and to payment of other costs of operation.
Schools must maintain separate accounting records for all government assistance received, any tuition fee increase, and the detailed disposition and use thereof; these records must be available for periodic inspection by SAC during business hours by the faculty, non-teaching personnel, students, the Department of Education, and other concerned government agencies.
A certification on the allocation of proceeds must be attached to the final report on GASTPE at the end of the school year.
The RPC-FAPE Regional Coordinator evaluates the application and reviews the MOA and supporting documents, with the deadline for submission of MOA to DECS Regional Offices set at August 31, 2000.
The Regional Coordinator forwards MOA and supporting documents to the RPC-DECS through the Chief of Secondary Education Division for review and signature of the Regional Director or designated signing officer (preferably the SED Chiefs), and FAPE forwards the MOA to the TFS National Secretariat at FAPE in Makati City.
The TFS National Secretariat makes a final evaluation of MOAs and supporting documents and verifies the computation accuracy in the billing section to ascertain correctness of the contract amount.
The TFS National Secretariat arranges for MOA signing by the FAPE President, notarization, and distribution to: FAPE/TFS National Secretariat, private high school principal, RPC secretariat, Bureau of Secondary Education, and a Notary Public’s Office.
Based on the MOA, the TFS National Secretariat issues payment requests to FAPE’s Accounting Department for the full payment of TFS claims.

Tfs: reimbursement timing, refunds, escrow, and penalties

The Government reimburses TFS vouchers within 120 days from the close of the registration period, provided participant school documents are processed by the ESC/TFS National Secretariat and DECS released funds to FAPE.
After DECSROs’ post notification of release date, payments, and check numbers, check payments are issued in the name of the TFS school for release to the official school representative or designated representative under the TFS MOA.
For students who paid the full tuition fee in advance, the school must refund the P500 tuition fee subsidy to the students.
In case of dispute over ownership of a participant school, the RPC may recommend to the National Executive Committee through the ESC National Secretariat the holding in escrow of the ESC/TFS grant for the current year and suspension of the school’s participation in succeeding school year(s) until dispute is settled.
If violations occur under the TFS guidelines and Republic Act No. 8545, DECS upon recommendation of SAC may ban the institution(s) from participating in or benefitting from GASTPE programs and other Department programs, without prejudice to administrative and criminal charges under existing laws.
A school that refuses to furnish copies of its audited financial statements to concerned sectors with whom it consults prior to tuition fee increases forfeits the right to increase its tuition fees, in addition to other penalties or sanctions that may be imposed under the ban provisions or by existing laws.

Monitoring, reporting, and compliance tasks

For ESC, the ESC National Secretariat obtains official receipts (ORs) for each payment made if ORs are not received within 30 days after check payment release.
For ESC, the ESC National Secretariat conducts random checks at the division level with the DPCs to verify the validity of ESC grantees enrolled in private schools.
For ESC, the ESC National Secretariat sample-tests ESC enrolment in nearby schools by tracing ESC students in class registers or other enrolment-related school documents.
For ESC, significant findings must be reported to the National Advisory Committee (NAC) not later than the close of the current school year.
For ESC compliance follow-up, around the 15th of the month following the close of the school year, the ESC National Secretariat follows up with the Regional Coordinator on schools that have not submitted ESC Form 5, requiring expedited compliance.
For TFS, the ESC/TFS National Secretariat obtains ORs for each payment if ORs are not received within 30 days after check release.
For TFS, random checks at the division level with DPCs verify the validity of TFS grantees enrolled.
For TFS, sample testing of enrolment is conducted in nearby schools by tracing TFS students in class registers or other enrolment-related documents.
For TFS, significant findings are reported to the NAC not later than the close of the current school year.
For TFS, the TFS Regional Coordinator prepares the consolidated report (using TFS Form 2) and submits it not later than August 30, 2000; it submits a copy of TFS Form 1 to the Bureau of Secondary Education not later than August 30, 2000 and every year thereafter; MOA processing occurs at the TFS National Secretariat, which issues checks directly to schools corresponding to the aggregate MOA amounts.