ISSN 2348-1218 (print) International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovations ISSN 2348-1226 (online) Vol. 11, Issue 2, pp: (25-34), Month: April 2023 - June 2023, Available at: www.researchpublish.com Page | 25 Research Publish Journals THE IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CONTRACTING PROGRAM TO STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL QUEST Helen N. Perlas Iloilo Science and Technology Miagao Campus Iloilo Science and Technology Miagao Campus, Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7899680 Published Date: 05-May-2023 Abstract: Private and public schools are partners in the delivery of quality education in the Philippines. In order to decongest overcrowded public junior high schools, the government provided the Educational Service Contracting (ESC) and the Teachers’ Salary Subsidy (TSS) programs as its commitment to maintain the viability of private education. Hence, this study was conducted to ascertain the outcome and impact of ESC program to school performance of the private schools. The participants of this study were the school heads, teachers, parents and ESC recipient graduate of ESC schools in the First District of Iloilo, Philippines. The instruments used in this study is composed of interview questions pertaining to the success stories of the ESC recipient graduates. This study employed the qualitative method of research. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clark) was used to determine the impact of ESC program to students’ academic quest, as well as to determine the challenges, concerns or issues in the implementation of the ESC program. Based on the findings of this study, various themes as to the impact, challenges, issues and concerns of ESC program were identified and formulated. Keyword: Educational Service Contracting, Teacher Salary Subsidy, Fund for Assistance in Private Education, Private Education Assistance Committee, Impact of ESC Program. I. INTRODUCTION Through the Educational Service Contracting (ESC) program, the government has been paying for the fundamental education of pupils enrolled in private junior high schools since 1968. In accordance with the Constitution's mandate, certified private high schools have been utilising this government programme for 51 years to promote and make quality education available to all Filipino citizens. Currently, DepEd Order 20, Section, stipulates how the programme would be implemented. Guidelines for the Implementation of the Teachers' Salary Subsidy and Educational Service Contracting Programs in Junior High School for the Academic Year 2017–2018 were published in 2017. The ESC program of the government is associated with varied issues as it is implemented in the private schools. These are the number of slots, qualifications and requirements of students, `teacher salary subsidy and re-certification results. Each ESC participating school is given a maximum allocation of fifty (50) slots and the minimum slots for currently participating schools of good standing is equal to the number of billed Grade 7 grantees in the previous school year. However, some schools have limited number of slots to accommodate qualified students to the program. In selecting ESC grantees, the school shall give preference to graduates of public elementary schools. However, some schools tend to accept students in order to maximize the number of slots given although their parents can afford to pay the tuition. In profiling and assessing the students, the school committee shall select grantees based on the need considering the limited slots allocated to the school. Yet, some students whose parents have high financial capacity are still selected and accepted to the program by the school committee and are enjoying the same privileged with that of less-privileged ones.