Monday, September 24, 2007 Education chief welcomes Cyber-Ed suspension
EDUCATION Secretary Jesli Lapus welcomed the suspension of the US$400 million Cyber Education Project (CEP) but stressed he felt sorry for the students who will benefit from the program and said it would further delay efforts to raise the standards of education in the country.
Lapus lamented that the suspension would mean that the integration of information technology, which he said is lagging compared to neighboring countries, in the country would once again be delayed to the detriment of Filipinos.
The official reiterated that the project will not only give the department savings of around 30 percent on teachers training, textbooks and communication, but it can greatly contribute in improving the quality of education and addressing the fundamental problem of resource.
He bewailed the fact that the project was lumped by its critics with the controversial US$329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal entered into by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) with Chinese firm, Zhong Xing Telecommunications (ZTE) Corporation.
“Contrary to reports, there is still no contract for this project. There is no supply contract. In fact there is not even a contract to suspend,” said Lapus.
He, however, hoped that the issue on the broadband network will be resolved soon so as not to affect the CEP which the department plans to implement early next year.
On Saturday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the suspension of the controversial deal between the Philippine government and ZTE Corp. after allegations surfaced that the contract was attended by irregularities.
Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, son of House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., a close ally of the President, accused Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. of offering him a US$10 million bribe if his company, Amsterdam Holdings Incorporated (AHI), desists from pursuing the project.
He also said the President’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, asked him to “back off” from the deal.
Although, Lapus has maintained that CEP is not connected with the NBN, it is “lumped together” in an economic loan from China according to several lawmakers, including Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. who is calling for a similar investigation on the project.
On Friday, before the suspension of NBN deal, Lapus has appealed to set aside doubts on CEP, and give the project a chance.
“This (CEP) is not ambitious nor is it lavish. This is not something that we never studied thoroughly. It is scientific and professional in its approach. This will teach our students the fundamentals and will help in teachers’ competencies,” said the education chief.
He added that project should not be prejudged without even knowing the project’s rationale, merits and benefits.
Lapus believed that the President has good reason for suspending the two projects. He added that he welcomed the suspension.
He said he can explain to the lawmakers the project’s benefit to the country’s education system.
Meanwhile, the graft watchdog group Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) urged the government and legislators to also look into the Cyber Ed project much the same way it scrutinize the NBN deal.
“It is the biggest among the five multimillion-dollar contracts the Philippine government lost during a still unsolved theft in China,” the group said.
Transportation officials have said the contract for the NBN deal was lost in China.
The NBN and CyberEd projects were two of the five deals that were signed in Boao, China last April between the Philippines and China. The President witnessed the signing ceremonies.
The Cyber-Ed project will be implemented in partnership with Tsinghua University, China's top technology university, which manages the China Education and Research Network that covers 320 million beneficiaries.
Cyber-Ed is a satellite-based distance education program which provides real-time interactivity to public schools. The project will link all administrative units of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the country, including the central office, 17 regional offices, 187 division offices and 37,792 public schools.
At least 12 video channels, wireless wide-area networking, local area networking and wireless Internet to even the remotest area of the country will be provided.
Through Cyber-Ed, the DepEd sees an improvement in the quality and efficiency of management information systems. Data and reports will be received at a faster rate, monitoring can be done even without leaving the office, and issues can be addressed almost immediately. (AH/Sunnex)
