Families with children enrolled in participating private junior high schools are set to receive bigger tuition subsidies after the Department of Education (DepEd) secured the first increase in Educational Service Contracting (ESC) grant rates since 2017.
The adjustment was officially approved by members of the State Assistance Council, comprising DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through an ad referendum.
Starting School Year 2027-2028, the approved rate adjustment will apply to incoming Grade 7 ESC grantees. Under the new structure, annual ESC grants in the National Capital Region (NCR) will rise from PHP13,000 to PHP17,500. Grantees in highly urbanized cities (HUCs) outside Metro Manila will receive PHP14,500 from PHP11,000, while those in all other regions will receive PHP12,000, up from PHP9,000.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara underscored that the adjustment provides timely financial relief for households grappling with rising school expenses. He added that the higher subsidy strengthens the government’s partnership with private schools to ease congestion in public classrooms.
“Malaking ginhawa ang mas mataas na subsidy para masigurong tuloy-tuloy ang pag-aaral ng ating mga kabataan at hindi sila napipilitang huminto dahil sa kakulangan sa pambayad.”
“Matagal nang hinihintay ng mga magulang at ng ating mga partner private schools ang dagdag na tulong na ito. Malaking ginhawa ang mas mataas na subsidy para masigurong tuloy-tuloy ang pag-aaral ng ating mga kabataan at hindi sila napipilitang huminto dahil sa kakulangan sa pambayad,” Angara said.
Angara added that keeping private education within reach of ordinary families remains essential to building a stronger, more responsive basic education system.
“Kapag binibigyan natin ng mas abot-kayang pagpipilian ang mga pamilya, nababawasan din natin ang siksikan sa public schools at nabibigyan natin ang bawat bata ng mas maayos na pagkakataon para matuto,” he said.
With the newly approved rates, representing increases of PHP4,500 in NCR, PHP3,500 in highly urbanized cities, and PHP3,000 in other areas, the government subsidy will now cover roughly 34 to 50 percent of mandatory tuition and miscellaneous fees.
The ESC program, implemented under DepEd’s Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (E-GASTPE), offers four consecutive years of financial assistance to qualified incoming Grade 7 learners entering participating private junior high schools.
To help offset annual school charges, the subsidies are released directly to ESC-participating schools for learners who maintain continuous enrollment and academic promotion through Grade 10.
