Social contract describes an aspect of the relationship between the government and the community. The essence of the agreement is that the community established the government in order to facilitate mutual respect for rights of all members of the community to maintain peace and order. This means that each member of the community agrees to sacrifice an aspect of their free will and submit to the governance of commonly established rules and regulations in exchange for common welfare. Part of the sacrifice that the community makes is the payment of regular dues to the government in the form of taxes as contribution of government revenue allocated to the machineries of the government in maintaining peace, order and wellbeing. The government then practices accountability by returning to the community revenue generated in the form of social welfare services such as free or subsidized healthcare and education. If the government, represented by the elected members and appointees of the elected officials, is unable to meet its responsibilities then the community holds the right to make changes. The people holding government elections through elections or other means as well as change the government through constitutional means as long as this constitutes concerted effort or find support from majority of community members.
However, in contemporary settings social contract has become complex with the terms and conditions defined by exigencies of globalization, deregulation and privatization that integrated business interests in governance. This resulted to the trade-off between the bureaucratic flaws of government with the rationalized efficiency of business, intended to improve government service. This radical shift has changed the social contract due to the inclusion of a new party, individuals and businesses, seeking to provide social services in behalf of the government. This also resulted to the increasing trend towards self-governance through autonomy and the increased role of the private sector in aiding the community to provide social services to the individual members. This means that the government has a decreased role in providing social services and the various sectors of the community filling the areas of public service delivery that the government cannot meet. This change in the nature of the social contract has given rise to varying opinions. On one extreme end of the perspectives, is the view that this change has improved the welfare of the people because service delivery is somewhat divested of the bureaucracy that slows down public service delivery with the provision of services by the private sector. The core argument for this perspective is the efficiency, which describes the private sector, needed by social service delivery. On the other extreme end of the views, is the perspective that transferring responsibility for social services from the government to the private sector only constitutes a short-term solution. The fitting answer is to address the weaknesses of the government in order to improve public service delivery based on the underlying assumption that social services fall under the public sphere of accountability and under the responsibility of the government. Investigating the unfolding of these arguments in one sphere of social services, particularly free education in public schools constitutes the focus of the present study.
Brigada Eskwela is a national program developed by the Department of Education as an activity in support of the opening of classes in June. The program seeks to encourage parents, teachers and other members of the local community to volunteer material and non-material resources and services in cleaning classrooms and school premises including doing minor repairs on desks, walls and other parts of the classroom to provide an atmosphere conducive to learning. The program was launched in 2003 in an effort to ensure that public school students continue to have classrooms and a school environment to gain primary and secondary education.
The concept of Brigada Eskwela is based on the bayanihan spirit innate to Filipinos. Bayanihan involves the voluntary effort of members of the community to help co-members of that same community who are in need. Traditionally, bayanihan became important in relocating families that involved moving an entire house. Over time, this concept took the form of other areas of community cooperation such as maintaining peace, order and cleanliness in the community. In the case of Brigada Eskwela, bayanihan meant that volunteers bring their own tools and materials needed in cleaning the school and making repairs. This concerted effort did not involve budget allocation on the part of the Department of Education. Although volunteers may have to spend for tools and materials, this depends upon their capability and freewill.
By: Mrs. Resie R. Baluyot | Teacher III | Orion Elementary School | Orion Bataan
