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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Cebu schools still to meet ICT targets
By Jeanette P. Malinao
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Cebu's education department envisions its schools to be “globally competitive,” yet it is in “bad shape” as far as meeting its targets for information and communication technology (ICT) is concerned.
As of last year, only 4.5 percent of the 953 elementary schools in the province offer computer classes and have access to the
Internet, while only eight percent have personal computers.
Also, the bulk of the computer units distributed to the schools did not come from the Department of Education (DepEd). Most were donated by other national government agencies, local government units, and the business sector.
The 203 high schools in Cebu Province may not at all be far off from its elementary counterparts, as only 57 high schools offer computer classes and have Internet access, and only 98 have computer units.
Aside from asking help from members of the Cebu Provincial ICT Council, DepEd Provincial Superintendent Recaredo Borgonia yesterday requested players in the ICT sector to give inputs when DepEd soon reviews its computer curriculum.
Goals
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, chairperson of the council, scored the education department’s presentation of non-realistic and non-doable targets that do not consider its budgetary constraints.
DepEd, for example, told the ICT council that it is targeting to get around 15,000 computer units for this year. Garcia asked how the agency would go about realizing its goals when it admitted that it only had some 1,000 computer units last year.
“We are on the go, but many things still need to be done, and we need the help of the LGUs for us to achieve our target,” said Borgonia.
But Garcia asked, “Why do you have to count on the LGUs, why not count on DepEd?”
Borgonia explained that salaries and maintenance expenditures eat up most of the department’s budget. He, however, failed to give an estimate of how much it would cost them to achieve their target.
The council asked DepEd to make a focused action plan for technology that the council can study and see where it could come in to assist.
Basic things
Garcia raised the importance of specifying the needed computers in each level. She cited that they would not need to buy high-tech computers for the elementary level, as the computer curriculum states that pupils would only be taught basic things, such as parts of the computer and their functions.
For this, they could buy refurbished ones that would cost only P5,000 each and would already meet the need to introduce students from far off barangays to the computer.
The DepEd Province, however, also has something to boast of in the ICT aspect.
Borgonia said it is the only education office in the country that created a document tracking system for operational efficiency, a system that the central office expressed willingness to borrow and copy.
Borgonia also revealed their plan to come up with what he calls a “learning portal” to provide through a website a baseline data on personnel, students and infrastructure, as well as provide teachers with online assistance on how to be better in their jobs.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 7, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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