"essence of the program" is a perfectly correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it when you are trying to express the fundamental purpose, spirit, or nature of something, such as a program. For example: "The essence of the program is to promote sustainability within the local community."
"Religious indoctrination is the essence of the program, and we think the essence of the First Amendment is that government cannot fund that sort of effort".
The essence of the program -- and indeed almost all the savings -- is the same between the administration's proposal and the compromise because in both, the government finances the loans.
The essence of the program is distilled in "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing," Billy Strayhorn's exotically harmonized ode to blossoming vegetation, which Ms. Oberlin delivered as an impressionistic tone poem with delicately voluptuous phrasing at Wednesday's opening-night show.
Robert S. Litt, the top lawyer in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, testified that the Obama administration was also "open to re-evaluating this program" to create greater public confidence that it protects privacy while "preserving the essence of the program".
A promotional spot, distilling to thirty seconds the moral essence of the programs it advertised, is worth describing in full.
One senior executive with knowledge of the contract said it specifies that several people would have to be included in any future episodes of the show, saying they were "of the essence" to the program.
The essence of this program is to attract qualified teachers to serve in rural area through strong economic incentives (Wang and Gao 2013).
The essence of the GA program is to implement an individually graded exercise program, which teaches the patient that it is safe to move while increasing the level of activity.
This is the essence of the [Rainbow Program].
The essence of the fetal programming idea is that impacts on local fetal cellular environments can change gene expression during the developmental construction of tissues and organs, and these changes can result in long-range consequences for the function of those tissues and organs during childhood and adulthood.
And the essence of the plan is that he would turn Medicare into a voucher program.
