Angara: Probe Cyber Education Project

Senator Edgardo Angara today said he will move for a senate inquiry on the P26.4 billion Cyber Education Project (CEP) of the Department of Education , citing the "indecent haste" of its implementation and the serious doubts about its relevance and cost-effectiveness.

In the eight national convention of the Asian Association for Human Resource Development Practitioners Inc., Senator Angara pointed out that the CEP is costly and that tests pilots should first be conducted in depressed areas in the country in order to gauge the program's effectiveness.

Angara said that the P26.4 billion money should instead go to the "main drive " of education, which means good teachers, adequate classrooms, books, chairs and desks. "Using a cyber jargon, the CEP is a peripheral, not the main disk ," he added.

"Before embarking on a Php26.48 billion-worth of project, I think we should first ask why no first world country has adopted this," said Senator Angara. "No studies have been made regarding the effectiveness of TV-based instruction in basic education."

The Cyber Education will use satellites to deliver educational services to 37,794 or 90 percent of public elementary and secondary schools throughout the country by linking all schools to a nationwide network.

This network will provide 12 video channels, wireless wide area networking, local area networking and wireless Internet connection.

"The idea is to use computers to connect all public and private schools throughout the country, and have a lecturer's discussion broadcasted nationwide," explained Senator Angara.

But Senator Anagara asserted that for a project so costly, "CEP can at most only be considered as an auxiliary tool in education, the value of which can be worthless in the context of inadequate facilities and ill-trained teachers."

"The Php26.48 billion would be better spent on addressing the lingering problems of Philippine education, such as lack of teachers, teacher training programs, textbooks, classrooms and other school facilities," pointed out Senator Angara.

Accordingly, Senator Angara will file a resolution to investigate the proposed CEP in aid of legislation, so that all officials responsible for the CEP to explain the methodology, content, cost and technology that will be utilized in the multi-million dollar project.

"We must demand more transparency and better articulation of the direction of our country's education policy. Asserting this is important in an increasingly competitive world." Senator Angara said.

The CEP will be financed through a multimillion dollar loan from China. This loan amounts to 86 percent of the project, or Php22.77 billion. The remaining Php3.71 billion, or 14 percent, will be financed by the Philippine government.