1. What is ESC?
Educational Service Contracting or ESC is a program implemented by the Department of Education and the Private Education Assistance Committee. Under this program, the department and the committee provide grants for student-beneficiaries to enroll in private junior high schools.
The DepEd and PEAC are in charge of certifying private junior high schools qualified for this program.
2. How much is the ESC grant?
The amount of subsidy given to the grantee depends on the location of the school.
Grantees (Grade 7 – Grade 10) attending schools in the National Capital Region receive P13,000 per year.
Grantees (Grade 7 – Grade 10) attending schools in Highly Urbanized Cities receive P11,000 per year.
Grantees (Grade 7 – Grade 10) attending schools in all other locations receive P9,000 per year.
Holy Cross College is located in Sta. Ana, Pampanga. The town is neither located in the NCR nor a HUC. Therefore, HCC ESC grantees are given P9,000 educational assistance per year.
3. Who is qualified for the ESC?
Grade 7 enrollees. The School Selection Committee (SSC) will then select ESC grantees from these enrollees. The SSC is chaired by the principal of the Integrated Basic Education Department with a representative from the Parent-Teacher Association and faculty.
4. What are the requirements for the ESC?
• ESC application form
• Recent 2×2 d photos (2 copies)
• Certified true copy of PSA birth certificate
• Grade 6 report card
• Proof of income of parents/guardian such as ITR, Certificate of Indigency from the Barangay or Certificate of employment
5. How are ESC grantees selected?
The SSC screens and prepares each applicant’s profile. The committee keeps these profiles for assessment by the DepEd and PEAC.
6. Is there a grade requirement for the ESC grantee?
No maintaining grades are required of grantees. However, the grantees must be able to pass their current grade level. They will also still receive the grant after being promoted to the next grade level or enrolling in a different ESC-participating JHS.
8. Can the grant be terminated?
The grant is terminated if a grantee does any of the following:
• Drops out in the middle of the school year for non-health reasons
• Does not re-enroll the following school year
• Fails to be promoted to the next grade level
• Gets suspended for more than two weeks
• Gets dismissed or expelled by the school for disciplinary reasons
• Transfers to a non-ESC-participating JHS
Getting certified
A school offering junior high has to meet the requirements of the DepED and PEAC in order to participate in the ESC program. After the school has submitted the required documents, the PEAC will visit the school for certification. It has to fall under the “within standards” category. This means the JHS must at least comply with all the guidelines of the PEAC and DepEd.
The participating school is recertified every four years. The DepED and PEAC have just renewed the certificate of Holy Cross College as an ESC-participating school.
“Sa pinakahuling recertification ng Holy Cross College, tayo po ay nabigyan ng apat na taon na muling pagpa-participate sa program,” said Benjie Nolasco, dean for Student Affairs.
The junior high school department was also given additional slots to accommodate more grantees this year. Under the guidelines for ESC, a school must have an ESC accreditation rating of level 3 or higher. This would ensure at least 30 more slots for the school. In 2019, Holy Cross College was given a level 3 ESC accreditation.
For the current school year, there are 721 ESC grantees in Holy Cross College. 175 of them are from Grade 7. When it first applied for the ESC, the school only had a total of 50 grantees.
Nolasco noted, “Ito po ay patunay lamang na quality education ang ating binibigay sa ating mga estudyante.”
For questions regarding ESC, don’t hesitate to reach out to the school with a heart here or through our official Facebook page.