Guidelines for Special Program for Student Employment

Republic Act No. 7323 establishes the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) to encourage employment of poor but deserving students during summer and/or Christmas vacations.
SPES aims to develop the intellectual capabilities of children from poor families and harness their potentials for the country’s well-being.
SPES specifically seeks to help poor but deserving students pursue their education by providing or augmenting income through employment during summer and/or Christmas vacation.
Implementation under DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001 is carried out by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in coordination with the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS).

Republic Act No. 7323 covers poor but deserving students who are 15 years of age but not more than 25 years old.
The statute requires that employment under SPES be arranged through the Labor Exchange Center of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Under DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001, qualified applicants include students and out of school youth (OSY) who are:
- between the ages 15-25;
- enrolled during the school year;
- with at least an average passing grade during the school year;
- dropouts intending to continue their studies; and
- coming from parents with combined net income after tax, including the applicant’s income if any, not exceeding P36,000.00 per annum.
Republic Act No. 7323 defines “poor but deserving students” as those whose parents’ combined incomes, together with their income, if any, do not exceed P36,000 per annum.

Republic Act No. 7323 allows any person or entity employing at least fifty (50) persons to employ qualified students during summer and/or Christmas Vacations.
Employers must pay participating students a salary or wage not lower than the minimum wage provided by law and other applicable labor rules and regulations.
Under DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001, qualified applicants must comply with a submission process and the education voucher support system described in the program.

Republic Act No. 7323 requires that 60% of the student’s salary or wage be paid by the employer in cash.
Republic Act No. 7323 requires that 40% of the student’s salary or wage be paid by the Government in the form of a voucher.
The education voucher is applicable for payment of tuition fees and books in any educational institution offering secondary, tertiary, vocational or technological education.
The Government must pay the voucher amount to the educational institution within thirty (30) days from its presentation to the Officer or agency designated by the Secretary of Finance.
The voucher is not transferable except:
- when the payee dies, or
- when a justifiable cause stops the payee in duties, in which case transfer may be made to the payee’s brothers or sisters.
If the payee has no brothers or sisters, the voucher amount is paid to the heirs or to the payee himself, as the case may be.

DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001 requires SPES applicants to submit the following documents:
- a bio-data with 1x1a photo;
- three (3) copies of birth or baptismal certificate;
- three (3) xerox copies of certification by the School Registrar as to:
  - the applicant’s last enrolment, and
  - the applicant’s passing average grade, or a copy of the original class cards or Form 138; and
- three (3) xerox copies of certified true copy of the applicant’s parents’ last Income Tax Return (ITR), or official certification from the Municipal Bureau of Internal Revenue Office attesting that the parents earn less than P36,000.00 per annum, together with an affidavit of non-filing or Barangay Certification.

DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001 provides that qualified students are paid based on the existing minimum daily wage rate under a prevailing Wage Order issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.
DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001 reiterates the 60%/40% distribution: 60% comes from the employing institution/office, and 40% comes from DOLE in the form of Education Vouchers.
Education vouchers may be used to defray tuition and other school fees of participating students.

DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001 assigns the DECS Center for Students and Co-Curricular Affairs (CSCA), headed by Executive Director and Kabataan 2000 National Action Officer Joey G. Pelaez, to coordinate, oversee and monitor SPES for the Department at the national level.
Under DECS Order No. 8, s. 2001, Kabataan 2000 regional action officers coordinate program implementation in their respective areas.
Republic Act No. 7323 requires the Secretary of Labor and Employment to serve as Project Director of this Program.

Republic Act No. 7323 directs the Secretary of Labor and Employment, Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports, and Secretary of Finance to issue the corresponding rules and regulations to carry out the progress of the Act.
Republic Act No. 7323 authorizes the amount necessary to carry out the Act to be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act of 1992 and subsequent annual general appropriations acts.
Republic Act No. 7323 takes effect after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Republic Act No. 7323 penalizes any person or entity that makes any fraudulent or fictitious claim under the Act regardless of whether payment has been made.
On conviction, the penalty is imprisonment of not less than six (6) months and not more than one (1) year and a fine of not less than Ten Thousand pesos (P10,000).
The penalty is without prejudice to prosecution and punishment for any other offense punishable under the Revised Penal Code or any other penal statute.
For partnerships or corporations, the managing partner, general manager, or chief executive officer is criminally liable.