Saturday, June 23, 2007 Comddap, Ayala Foundation tie-up for Gilas project
THE top official of the Computer Manufacturers, Distributors and Dealers Association of the Philippines (Comddap) Thursday said they tied-up with the Ayala Foundation to support the Foundation's Gilas Project (Gearing-up Internet Literacy and Access for Students) in order to bring computers to all public high schools in the Philippines.
"We recently tied-up with the Ayala Foundation's Gilas Project, the project aims to provide an Internet laboratory in all public high schools in the country within the next five years," said Comddap president Juan Chua.
Chua said each public high school in the country would be given a maximum of ten computer units.
Gilas Project, Chua said, is targeting to reach out to close to 6,000 public high schools in the country. He said a total of 1,698 public high schools already benefited through the project.
Gilas Project was conceived by a group of private sector leaders of like mind and mission: to raise the ante and cover the entire system of 5,433 public high schools in five years. Leaders from some of the country's most influential corporations, relevant government institutions, and the socio-civic community comprise the membership of the committee.
Gilas objectives include the delivery of internet access for schools with computer labs, servers or routers, LAN cards, and cables, the provision of connectivity and unlimited free internet usage for the first year, and the delivery of ten computers and internet access for schools without equipment.
The project also aims to provide basic training for teachers and administrators on networking and resource mobilization, and the formulation of basic curriculum and year-long lesson plan maintenance.
It was learned that the currect estimated cost of the project is US$ 28 million. JGRS
