The Department of Education (DepEd) announced that President Rodrigo Duterte has approved September 13, 2021, as opening date for School Year (SY) 2021-2022 which was among the options recommended by DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones.

“We thank the President for his full support to the delivery of quality basic education for the incoming school year,” Briones said.

The school calendar for SY 2021-2022 will be released soon by DepEd.

“We hope for our stakeholders’ continued cooperation and support as we prepare for another challenging yet worthwhile endeavor of educating our children amid a global pandemic,” Briones said.

Meanwhile, DepEd assured the public that the implementation of the Senior High School Voucher Program (SHS VP) will continue in SY 2021-2022.

DepEd is committed to ensure the continued implementation of the SHS VP as well as its other programs of government assistance and subsidies, to the extent that funding is made available to DepEd.

Qualified learners who fall under the following categories need not apply for the SHS VP since they are considered automatically qualified. These learners are assured that they can avail of their vouchers for Grade 11 in SY 2021-2022:

• Learners who completed/will complete Grade 10 in SY 2020-2021 in DepEd public schools.

• Learners who completed/will complete Grade 10 in SY 2020-2021 in SUCs and LUCs.

• Learners who completed/will complete Grade 10 in SY 2020-2021 in private schools who are Education Service Contracting (ESC) grantees.

DepEd said it is preparing to open the online voucher application for incoming Grade 11 learners who passed the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Accreditation and Equivalency Test for Junior High School level not earlier than 2016, ALS learners who passed the Portfolio Assessment, and learners who passed the Philippine Educational Placement Test for Grade 10, provided these learners had not previously enrolled for Grade 11.

DepEd said the voucher application for incoming Grade 11 learners who completed Grade 10 in private junior high schools who are not grantees under the DepEd ESC Program will be opened once it receives additional funding from the Department of Budget and Management, or given other circumstances that may allow it to accommodate more voucher program beneficiaries.

DepEd added it has been closely coordinating with the concerned offices on its request for additional funds.

The detailed guidelines on the conduct of SHS Voucher Application for SY 2021-2022 shall be made available on the websites and other official platforms of DepEd and the Private Education Assistance Committee.