INTRODUCTION

The teachers seen the new generations of the students that they are more comfortable in the use

of technologies and other electronic device. In this Era, the DepEd and the teachers actively

recommend to use the Cyber Education.

According unto the professional researcher, the cyber Education can help the students more,

most of it to those student frequently use the computer and more facilitate the learning of the

students because they actively they use electronics.

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of Cyber is “of, relating to, or

involving computers or computer network (as the internet)”. Computer is the main electronic

device to people use cyber education. Great is the provided that contribution in search of

information to another kind of research and development.

To have a good caused by the electronics, they used cyber education to see the effective delivery

this in students. According to world bank organization “Education is fundamental to

development and growth.” And to Merriam-Webster dictionary “ the field of study that deals

mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools”.

It is referred that, not only in school to learn and may get knowledge, possible that also in the use

of technology. Assertion the multitude, electronic devices is not too much help in studying, this

is the earliest causes from being a slothful and would not the students to study.

There is some countries that successfully implemented the Cyber Education to their country for

the studies purposes. Here is China, the foundation of cyber education.

At any pass by many process of education, one is not to get better – the goal is it that give

knowledge of men. Education the high life of all that can’t steal in your personation, the

inheritance of your parents of thee and the give thee a beautiful future.

To cause to multiply the children who lose appetite to think and learn to them that oppressed the

life of being a student, some also have entered natural inclination to school. Department of

Education have in mind to use the electronic device as medium in studying to convince the

students to study.

The effect of our economy of the nation if it is not with the students that there is a concern that

studying the technological get the attention of students. But not only the that is the problem of

agencies of Education, facilities in less than devices and less than schools and teachers to teach

and abilities of a teacher may teach of yet to study that should are in order to talk about a clear

and to comprehend a student.

The Cyber Education is a comprehensive use of satellite technology undisputed for effective and

good in the world now. This is according to the DepEd.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research is the effect of cyber education of the selected students of ABM Senior High

School of MPNAG in teaching reading and writing. To be clear the study that this is needed to

answer the research problem.

Knowing Q1.) What is Cyber Education? First, so the students inform what is cyber education

really is. Also, knowing the importance of cyber education as a student like Q2.) How helpful
 the Cyber Education to the students for their studies? , Q3.)Why must use Cyber Education as

tool of teaching in school?. After knowing the basic information, questioned the cyber education

as a tool of teaching in school the effectiveness of it in student Q4.)What is the bad effect of

using cyber education in studies of the students?, Q5.)How much effective the cyber education

in teaching of the students? Then, do some research how wide the cyber education is and how

many percentages of students know the existence of cyber education. Q6.) How much the

percentage of awareness of the student of cyber education?, Q7.) Is the Cyber Education can

be effective solution for the students became active in school’s activities?

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

CYBER EDUCATION

Topics

Foundation of Learning

Cognitive of
Theory of Contructivism
Multimedia Theory
Learning
Behaviorism
E-Learning Theory
Theory make a decision
about learning
using words and what he or she
pictures for deeper wants to achieve
human collaboration,
understanding can give a judgement
technology and services
about reaching the Social Learning
expected outcome of Theory of
learning Education and
Technology
all theories mentioned have different
ways to effectively learn an individual using technology
all theories mentioned have different as a tool of
ways to effectively learn an individual learning
RRLas

FOREIGN
On the grand timeline of mankind, revolutionary innovations can be found throughout each
century. The Internet, although relatively new by comparison, is undoubtedly deserving of being
considered among such achievements. It has become the backbone to the 21 st century
infrastructure, allowing instant communication across the globe and the ability to store nearly
infinite amounts of data. With each passing day, society finds itself increasingly dependent on
the worldwide web. People's lives are chronicled there, from pictures of cherished memories to
sensitive information such as bank accounts. Corporations rely on their computer networks for
communications, research and development, and collecting and processing consumer
information. But as the Internet becomes further embedded in all of our lives, it is also
increasingly becoming one of the greatest threats to our national security.

Cases of cybercrimes are multiplying exponentially each year. New research from market
analyst Juniper Research details that the more we embrace the Internet — and the more
consumer information is digitized — the more likely companies will suffer a data breach. The
company projects that by 2019, the cost of data breaches will increase to $2.1 trillion globally.
That is four times the estimated costs of breaches in 2015.

At a recent IBM Security Summit in New York City, Ginni Rometty, IBM Corp.'s chairman,
president and CEO, told executives from 123 companies that she believes data "...is the world's
new natural resource. It is the new basis of competitive advantage, and it is transforming every
profession and industry. If all of this is true — even inevitable — then cyber crime, by definition,
is the greatest threat to every profession, every industry, every company in the world."

This threat must be taken seriously. Better cybersecurity measures must soon be put into place in
this country, or we will soon suffer the wrath of the $2.1 trillion projected cost of breaches.

American corporations are desperately working to overcome their data security challenges by
rapidly growing their cybersecurity divisions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
cybersecurity job growth is projected to grow by 37 percent through the year 2022. That's more
than three times the average job growth. Unfortunately, the supply of qualified domestic workers
is not keeping up with the demand. Last year, there were over 550,000 jobs posted in computer
science-related fields. However, U.S. universities produced fewer than 43,000 computer science
graduates.

--Dan Perrin
The NCSA (National Cyber Security Alliance) just released the detail of a survey of
educators and technologists concerning both cybersecurity and cyberethics education
in the schools. Cyberethics is prevention. It attempts to decrease cybercrime by
teaching that it really is still crime and not very nice. Cybersecurity is teaching
defense.

If I covered the whole report this blog would be longer than the report itself! This may
require a few blogs to discuss the many different aspects of the survey, but I’ll cover a
few items today. You can get the report
at http://staysafeonline.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=67&item=50.

It is interesting to me that according to the report 100% of Technology coordinators,

97%) of school administrators, and 95% of teachers agree cyberethics, cybersafety,
and cybersecurity curriculum should be taught in schools. This should come as no
surprise as cybersafety and cyber security have become required life skills in our
society. As for cyberethics that opens a whole different can of worms that at times
may verge on discussions about teaching religion in schools.

The report states that 72% of teachers, 58% of technology coordinators, and 51% of
school administrators are most likely to think parents are primarily responsible for
teaching children to use computers safely and securely. Another way to state this is
that almost half of the administrators appear to believe it is primarily the school’s job
to teach these cyber subjects. There is a very sound argument for the schools being the
primary teacher. Many, probably most, parents don’t have the knowledge to teach
cybersafety and cybersecurity. Most parents probably can teach cyberethics, but it
doesn’t help if their kids see them downloading pirated materials!

So, now that we know that there is overwhelming support for teaching these subjects
in school, the true challenge is preparing the teachers to effectively teach the subjects.
The survey does address this issue to some extent. The report states “Over three
quarters of teachers have spent less than six hours on any type of professional
development education related to cyberethics, cybersafety, and cybersecurity within
the last 12 months. Comparatively, between 2008 and 2010, more teachers have
received training in the 6-15 hours range. However, the “less than six hours” of
training group remains the largest.”

I believe it will be several years before we actually have enough teachers with enough
training and knowledge to effectively teach cybersecurity and cybersafety, but society
needs to start providing such training sooner rather than later. It is very encouraging
that the recent cybersecurity bill that was passed in the US House of Representatives
does pay attention to the role of education. Now we need to translate that to reaching
people with effective education… and the same needs to be done throughout the
world. It really isn’t just a US problem and education is a great area for international
collaboration.
--Randy Abrams
Gone are the days when schools were only limited to chalks and dusters and the study time was fixed
to 5-6 hours a day. 21st century has not only changed the teaching and learning standards but has
brought in a lot of technological challenges. UNICEF report shows how cyber offences against
children in India are spreading and diversifying as new methods are used to harass, abuse and exploit
children. In the wake of technology evolving at a much faster pace and social media being always a
buzz among teenagers, it has become very important to introduce Cyber Education at every level.
The kids of today’s era are born in a digital age where pizzas are being delivered by drone and cars
have become driverless. Knowingly or unknowingly there is a lot of personal information being
shared online by kids without knowing its effects. Therefore, it is very important that cyber
Education is made part of School curriculum.
Cyber Education from the student’s perspective is teaching students of how to keep themselves safe
in their digital world. It is like teaching the same things as they do in real world – do not talk to
strangers, do not share your personal identifiable information in the DIGITAL world. Over the past
few year the cyber-crimes against children has seen a meteoric rate and blue whale challenge was
one of the examples. India has one of the world’s highest rate of teen suicide rates according to
WHO*. Telenor survey 2016 states ‘Indian urban children spends 4 hours daily on the internet’.
The current attacks and incidents show countries all over the world have realized the need of cyber
education. Cyber education needs to be penetrated across various stakeholders and majorly in
schools. Suffice is to say that “Cyber education” needs to be introduced in schools at all levels.
--Nelson Mandela

With cyber attacks constantly on the rise, the need to secure our networks is
highlighted on a daily basis, not least as publicized in the recent US election revelations.
Our increasing reliance on technology has come hand-in-hand with some unsettling
statistics for cyber crime; according to various reports, over 60 percent of US companies
have been victims of cyber attack, as well as numerous government agencies.

The US government has in recent years made defending its institutions’ virtual borders a
top priority, implementing the Department of Defense Cyber Strategy in 2015. Cyber
education is recognized as a key element within this strategy; specifically the National
Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), as detailed under the “Build the cyber
workforce” section of Strategic Goal I.

--NEWSWEEK EDUCATIONAL INSIGHT

The need of cyber education in schools
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world – Nelson Mandela
Gone are the days when schools were only limited to chalks and dusters and the study time was fixed
to 5-6 hours a day. 21st century has not only changed the teaching and learning standards but has
brought in a lot of technological challenges. UNICEF report shows how cyber offences against
children in India are spreading and diversifying as new methods are used to harass, abuse and exploit
children. In the wake of technology evolving at a much faster pace and social media being always a
buzz among teenagers, it has become very important to introduce Cyber Education at every level.
The kids of today’s era are born in a digital age where pizzas are being delivered by drone and cars
have become driverless. Knowingly or unknowingly there is a lot of personal information being
shared online by kids without knowing its effects. Therefore, it is very important that cyber
Education is made part of School curriculum.
Cyber Education from the student’s perspective is teaching students of how to keep themselves safe
in their digital world. It is like teaching the same things as they do in real world – do not talk to
strangers, do not share your personal identifiable information in the DIGITAL world. Over the past
few year the cyber-crimes against children has seen a meteoric rate and blue whale challenge was
one of the examples. India has one of the world’s highest rate of teen suicide rates according to
WHO*. Telenor survey 2016 states ‘Indian urban children spends 4 hours daily on the internet’.
The current attacks and incidents show countries all over the world have realized the need of cyber
education. Cyber education needs to be penetrated across various stakeholders and majorly in
schools. Suffice is to say that “Cyber education” needs to be introduced in schools at all levels.
LOCAL

According to Alberto A. Laurito, in his paper UST e-LeAP: An e-Learning Initiative for
Thomsian Students (2003), is aimed he might make known the initiative in e-Learning which is
called the e-Learning Access Program (e-leAP) for University of Santo Tomas.
The e-LeAP is aimed at providing an effective e-learning experience for Sto. Tomas through an
e-learning management system.

A comparison of students achievement under different modes of institution for a computer in

AMA Computer University, written by Alma Dela Cruz, et al., contains the implementation of a
basic instructorless approach to their computer laboratory classes. A survey was conducted to
release the state of combined electronic and printed books. The questions contain questions that
measure the skills of students in their study according to such experiments.

If the country does not move, the Philippines will be left behind by other underdeveloped
countries in the educational process. Years without the implementation of a quality education
system, millions of students graduating from school need to work without the skills of using
computers if the country does not want to lose its competitiveness in the country, it is only
appropriate for a successful implementation of the study that involves cyber education
(educnews, September 2007)

https://www.senate.gov.ph/publications/PB%202008-05%20-
%20Revisiting%20the%20Cyber%20education%20Project.pdf

https://www.slideshare.net/yhin5233/cyber-education-project-in-the-phillipines

Cyber Education Project in the Phillipines

1. 1. THE CYBER EDUCATION PROJECT Irene T. Mañova MAT-THE
2. 2.  It was conceptualized during the time of President Fidel V. Ramos. The idea was to use
the country’s Agila satellite system which was launched into orbit in 1997, as the tool.
However, it didn’t push through.  During President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo’s government,
is trying hard in realizing this development amidst the strong and challenging political and
economic concerns.
3. 3.  ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE Low mastery levels in both Elementary and Secondary
levels Lowest grades are in Science and Math Poor performance in international
benchmark exam
4. 4.  DROP-OUTS: HIGH RISK IN COHORT SURVIVAL Only 7 out of 10 pupils entering
Grade 1 will finish grade VI Only 4 will finish secondary schooling Reasons for dropping
out include lack of pre-school preparation, disinterest in the lessons, poverty, malnutrition
and transportation problem.
5. 5.  OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH FUNCTIONAL ILLITERATES – 9.16 million around 16%
of the population are illiterate youths and adults VS. Mobile Teachers - 800 VS.
Alternative Learning – 0.17% of DepEd Budget Impossible to reach the illiterate youths and
adults without the aid of electronic multi- media technology
6. 6. Reach the illiterate youths and adults with the aid of electronic multimedia technology.
Better yet, use a satellite technology that connects all schools in real time so that contents
and processes are standardized. The Best response to the challenges of basic education is
the CYBER EDUCATION PROJECT. It is the quickest and most-effective way of delivering
the same high quality education to all learners throughout the country.
7. 7. CYBER EDUCATION is defined as brand new form of education in which instructional
and management activities are carried out mainly based on E-Learning technologies. It
includes concepts like “online education”, “E-Learning”, “virtual education”, “digital
education”, “multimedia learning” and among others. The Philippines’ Cyber Education
Project is accurately described as a SATELLITE-BASED DISTANCE LEARNING
PROGRAM.
8. 8. This ICT-based education strategy is included in an economic cooperation agreement
between the Philippines and China signed in June 2006. The CEP is supposed to be carried
out with technical assistance from Tsinghua University, China’s premier technology
university and one of the world’s pioneers in distance education.
9. 9.  The DepEd set the school year 2008-2009 as the target date for the launch of the pilot
schools and the remaining schools for the first phase of CEP.  However, allegations that
the CEP is another anomalous transaction similar to the controversial $329 M national
broadband network (NBN) project.  September 25, 2007: President Arroyo officially
announces the suspension of the NBN and CyberEd projects. “ We have suspended the
national broadband and cyber education projects in response to political criticisms, “ she
said.
10. 10.  Under CEP, a total of 37,794 schools will be linked to a nationwide network that
provides 12 video channels (one channel for each grade/year level and a channel for teacher
training), wireless wide area networking, local area networking and wireless internet
connectivity that is expected to be finished in 3 years. The network will enable collaboration
among teachers and will introduce school children to more interactive and interesting
learning methodologies.
11. 11.  The CEP will make use of satellite technology since satellite communications do not
demand extensive wire infrastructure in order to broadcast information. Classrooms will be
equipped with a television set hooked to a satellite disc. At the start of a subject period, the
teacher opens the TV to receive a live satellite feed from DepEd studios in Manila. A “master
teacher” gives a live lecture simultaneously to tens of thousands of students all over the
country.  DepEd is planning to get the “best” teachers including Metrobank awardees to act
as speakers or trainers for the live broadcast. The teacher and students will watch the live
lecture, and then spend the rest of the subject period discussing and doing school work.
12. 12.  To implement aforementioned strategy, the Deped will install the necessary
equipment, which include TVs and computers, in about 34 schools per day for three years,
starting with schools in 3rd class cities and municipalities. Also, the DepEd will put up its own
studio and broadcasting center to produce the daily live shows on 12 channels covering five
subjects.
13. 13.  A dedicated network that will eventually connect all DepEd administrative units in the
country including:  A nationwide network that will utilize satellite technology considered to
be most effective and efficient in the world today.  Central office  17 regional offices  187
division ICT offices  All public schools
14. 14. NETWORK CONFIGURATIONNETWORK CONFIGURATION Source:
15. 15. • This network configuration is a proven design for other satellite-based distance
education programs in other countries. • The central office will house the master production
center. This includes the data centers, network operating center and satellite
communications center. Everything that can be achieved in the network will go through the
highly secure master production center • Model schools will house the virtual classroom
studios which will broadcast live classes to all recipient schools nationwide.
16. 16. • Regional office has the capability to produce localized content and upload it to the
network for use of everybody • Central, Regional and division offices have the capability for
video conferencing and high- speed file sharing • Schools will have own Local Area Network
(LAN) and logistical preparation.
17. 17. PROJECTPROJECT CONNECTIVITYCONNECTIVITY Source:
18. 18. • Multimedia classroom contains an average of 2 PCs, 4 TVs, 1 printer, 1 set of
send/receive antenna • Each school will have a local media server that will manage all
materials downloaded from the data centers • There is virtually no limit to the number of
additional TVs and PCs that the intranet can accommodate • The use of television is a
strategy to ease the transition to more sophisticated forms of technology and reduce
technophobia, especially in elementary schools. Teachers and students might still be
comfortable in using TVs for learning in the early stages of project implementation.
PROJECTPROJECT CONNECTIVITYCONNECTIVITY
19. 19. • There is no limit to the number of TVs the network can accommodate • The presence of
a few computers will gradually make them more comfortable in utilizing the technology. In the
future, as computer prices decrease and more donors / private sector partners support
DepED, computer density in schools will eventually increase and pave the way for more
independent forms of pedagogy • Outsiders to the network can visit a website where they
can download other multimedia content. PROJECTPROJECT
CONNECTIVITYCONNECTIVITY
20. 20.  United States, Canada, Chile, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras,
Thailand, Indonesia, India and China.  The CEP project is patterned after the successful
China Education and Research Network (CERNET), which serves 320 M school children,
and the E-Education Project, which provides about the same Cyber Ed package to almost
500 000 schools and universities in China.
21. 21.  China’s Tsinghua University as the major partner to lead in the turn-key setup.  Best
Technology university in China (no. 17 in the world)  Pioneered the long-distance education
platform for China  Manages the Chinese CERNET Backbone (320 M beneficiaries)  Runs
E-education project for almost 500,000 schools  Has cutting edge Live Interactive Class
Software  Has extensive Courseware Development Experience
22. 22.  Improving the teaching-learning process  15-20 minutes daily live broadcast of
lectures delivered by excellent master teachers to ensure accuracy of content by
reducing/avoiding teacher misconceptions and textbook errors  This provides a national
standard for pacing of lessons. Schools will know whether they are advanced or lagging in
their lessons and react accordingly.  This ensures the quality of education received by all.
 They can easily be referenced either through the Intranet or through internet.  To reach 9
M illiterate youths and adults, who according to DepEd, are impossible to reach without the
aid of multimedia technology.
23. 23.  Frequent In-school “virtual” Training from certified experts  Unlimited access to
professional development materials  Country-wide collaborative learning and courseware
development (learning from each other)
24. 24.  Efficient Management Information System • Data & reports will be received faster,
monitoring can be done even without leaving the office and issue/problems can be
addressed almost immediately.  Cost-Effective monitoring and Internal Control system •
School-based management can be strengthened andtighter internal control can be enforces.
 Empowerment and decentralization through connectivity • Interconnectivity of all DepEd
units will open new doors not just for pedagogy and training, but for general management of
schools and entire bureaucracy.
25. 25. Total School Beneficiaries: 37,794 Outside 1st and 2nd class cities Total schools with
satellite-based facilities: 26,618 Elementary Schools: 22,855 (62%) Secondary Schools:
3,763 (77%) Additional 30% of elementary schools through clustering 90% of all public
elementary and secondary schools stand to benefit from the project. Serving at least 13
MILLION students and 800 classes for OUT-OF- SCHOOL youth Source:
26. 26. INITIAL PROJECT INVESTMENT (Year 1) $100M Chinese ODA + GOP Counterpart =
PhP5.8B CYBER ED COST PER PUPIL Php1.22 per day INTERNET CAFÉ COST
(unguided learning) PhP 15.00 per hour VS. Source:
27. 27. TOTAL INVESTMENT (over 5 years) PhP 26.48 billion •Phase 1: $100M •Phase 2: $200
M •Phase 3: $150 M Equipment for Schools 68.57% Equipment for backbone 2.30%
Courseware Training Quality Assurance 2.20% Operating Cost 12.66% Duties and Taxes
10.97% Inflation 3.30% Source:
28. 28. TOTAL PROJECT INVESTMENT PhP26.48B 5-YEAR AVERAGE YEARLY COVERAGE
13.6 Million Students 5-YEAR PER STUDENT COST PER DAY 64 CENTAVOS Source:
29. 29.  The CEP is the largest among five contracts entered into by the Philippines
government with China costing a total of US$ 465.5 M or P26.48 B. The project was sealed
by Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the GOP thru the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) Secretary Peter Favila and Dr. Jung of Tsinghua Tongfang Nuctech Co. of
China.  86% of the total project cost will be funded via a loan from the Chinese government
while the remaining 14% will come form the GOP national treasury.  Bulk of the project cost
68.7% will be used for the purchase of equipment while the remainder will be distributes as
follows:  12.66% - operating cost  10% - taxes and duties  3.30% - inflation  2.3% -
equipment backbone  2.2% courseware training and quality assurance.
30. 30.  In the analysis of the NBN and the CEP, UP professors Raul Fabella and Emmanuel
De Dios described how in some inexplicable twist, the CEP was scaled up to entail a
government operated backbone which consequently amplified its cost to P26.48 billion from
its original no-separate backbone project estimate of 5.2 billion.  The same study criticized
the project’s lack of an economic rationale.  To emphasize the magnitude of cost of the
project, the P26.48 billion pesos could build 48,145 classrooms at P550, 000.00 per
classroom.
31. 31.  The installation of computers and televisions including network connectivity in 26, 618
public schools within 3 years by some 40 teams or around 1 school per team per day leaves
little room for error. However, logistics itself would already prove to be troublesome given the
actual locations of schools all over the country.  Given the number of teachers and
students, will everyone be able to use the computers to download lessons and learning
materials?  The World Bank also says that it is unclear where to place the computers to
make sure they are used most efficiently.
32. 32.  The courseware to be used is an equally important component in the project which
must be developed using the Philippines’ own curriculum in a particular subject area. The
development and production of each episode required close coordination between
curriculum experts, subject area specialist, and production staff. Every episode had to
undergo formative evaluation and pretesting with teachers.  As the CEP will use computers
to provide real time interaction, it is necessary that training be conducted to the teachers and
students who will be using the software and the hardware. DepEd claims that out of 343, 628
 nationally funded secondary public teachers, 75,000 already received ICT training under
INTEL while 18,000 received training from Microsoft.
33. 33.  DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus said that the Cyber Ed Project would partially solve the
shortage in books and teachers.  Director Lorenzo Mateo, who manages the cyber
Education Project, said that the Cyber Ed is the answer to the problems of lack of learning
and instructional materials for students and costly teacher training. Also a solution to the late
transmission to remote areas of new policies and memorandums.
34. 34.  Mr. Conrado R. Banal III wrote at the Philippine Inquirer that “ the project would use
technology to save our education system , which our neighbors have been using for more
than 10 years .”  “The cyber education project of DepEd will dramatically improve the
delivery of quality basic education through ICT to thousands of public schools in remote
barangays”, Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
35. 35.  The alliance of Concerned Teachers provided specific details and situations to refute
DepEd’s Claim: • No studies on effectivity of live TV-based instruction in basic education •
Real school situation: District, Sarangani School, 879 students, 27 teachers, 10 classrooms,
268 desk/chairs 1:32 teacher-pupil ration 3.28 pupil seating ration– 1 TV every 219 students
impossible to provide for all grade levels simultaneously clustering scheme to pad the figures
if implemented. • No mention whatsoever of maintenance cost • There’s no MOOE
(maintenace and operations funds) to keep it running.
36. 36. • Over price • It fails to address the roots of the problems in basic education • It lacks of
transparency  Martin Perez, an educator, had this reminder: a school is not just a building,
with rooms full of books and chairs. It is also an integral part of a community, especially in
rural areas. Local government units must sustain communities where children stay in school.
There must be water, electricity and food. The mere fact that a lot of schools in our country
lack these most basic necessities raises the question of how responsive, practical and
responsible CEP can be
37. 37.  SCRAP CYBER EDUCATION PROJECT – ANGARA  Sen. Edgardo J. Angara said
that more than 26 billion allocated for the cyber Education Project of the DepEd should be
used to build classrooms, ease the shortage of teachers, desks and textbooks instead of
wasting money on a “cyber white elephant.”
38. 38.  Education is a long term play with no quick fixes. ICT is only a tool and cannot fix bad
educational philosophy or compensate for bad practice. It is about the way we structure
learning and how we manage schooling. It is about managing quality outcomes first and
foremost. The SEPO Policy Brief

Access and education key to future Philippines

Internet growth
By Mary Rose Ofianga-Rontal on 17 Nov 2016

Categories: Community, Development

Tags: APNIC 42, Fellowships, Guest Post, IGF, ISIF Asia, Internet Governance, Philippines

Blog home
Mary Rose Ofianga-Rontal was a fellow at APNIC 42

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the APNIC 42 conference held in Colombo, Sri
Lanka as a fellow.

The experience built upon my previous fellowship with IGF 2014 (which I received through
ISIF Asia Award) and strengthened my understanding of Internet Governance and its
principles of transparency, accountability, openness and inclusiveness. With regards to the
latter, in countries like the Philippines, we have a clear need for greater Internet access.

Internet access is an important enabler for improving economic growth, as well as social
services like healthcare and education as highlighted in the United Nation’s Sustainable
Development Goals “Transforming Our World – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development”, which the Philippines is committed to achieving.

At the start of 2016, Internet penetration in the Philippines was only 42%. The country has
a population of 102 million, of which 49% live in urban areas. Those majority living in
remote areas have minimal or no access to the Internet.

So how do we extend mobile and Internet connectivity to populations located in

geographically isolated or disadvantaged areas?

Access is only part of the battle

For the majority of Filipinos, mobile devices are the primary means to connect to the
Internet. Photo: eAKaP, Flickr

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a significant role in boosting

economic growth in areas where development is needed. Several ICT solutions introduced
in the Philippines have improved access to healthcare, education, employment and disaster
risk reduction, among other social services.

However, some of these have struggled to scale up, due in a large part to poor connectivity.

For example, when I started mHealth in 2014 for Community Health Workers, we found it
difficult to transfer data from mobile devices to desktops and laptops due to poor Internet
connections. This eventually became a road block in sustaining the project. Poor Internet
access limits the potential of technology to deliver better social services, particularly in
under-resourced areas where it is most needed.
Another challenge the ICT industry is facing in the Philippines is a lack of competent
workers. In 2011, around 70,000 students graduated from computer science, IT and other
ICT-related courses, yet many IT graduates remained unemployed or underemployed.

With better Internet bandwidth, students could connect with distant industry experts for
education and mentoring says Mary Rose. Photo: OrangeHub

Silicon Valley-trained Filipino software gurus claim that only 10% of IT and Computer
Science graduates are “hireable” and this low hiring rate was due to the “under education”
of graduates.

The Philippines Technical Educational and Service Development Authority (TESDA)

pointed out that several factors are a cause for this, including a lack of: linkage between IT
educational institutions, IT companies and industry experts, as well as the alignment of the
curriculum; availability of accredited and licensed IT teachers; and adherence to quality.
For me, this has all led to a waste of talent given the potential of Filipinos who can make a
difference when given the right training and opportunity.

Again this “under education” can be traced back to a lack of Internet connectivity. With
strong Internet bandwidth, students could connect with distant industry experts who could
provide them with a quality education and mentorship to help prepare them for the real
world after schooling.

Progress is being made

Although the Digital Divide still exists among regions and provinces in the Philippines there
are signs of progress being made including the IP peering deal the two major Telcos
recently agreed on which is expected to improve Internet connectivity in the country.

This is just a start and there are many things still to be done, including growing access
outside of urban areas and reducing the price for Internet services. Also, in a country that is
an archipelago and prone to natural disasters, better and resilient Internet infrastructure is
necessary.

As both APNIC 42 and the IGF meeting experiences afforded me, these issues require a lot
of people, organizations and levels of government to resolve. It is this multistakeholder
approach that Internet Governance is built upon, which will lay the foundation to
delivering the social and economic benefits that ICT promises to provide.