iSchools project, a flagship project of CICT, has provided internet-abled computer laboratories to 1,000 public high schools and given roughly 19,200 school personnel with IT training for education initiatives.
“We are now trying to complete our deliverables and make sure that all schools get appropriate IT training,” Christian Placido Calma, CICT Project Development Officer and the Project Content Development Head told FutureGov Asia Pacific Magazine.
The project roll-out started on 2007.
One of the challenges faced by the iSchools program in its first three years of implementation is the lack of connectivity given the geographic location – the schools are situated in areas beyond or barely within the reach of mobile broadband providers.
Meanwhile, Calma said CICT together with its partner State Universities and Colleges ensure that every school beneficiary should have electricity to be able to use the computers and access the internet.
“Before we give out the computers, we have to make sure that the schools would be able to use the computers because if there is no electricity there is no point in giving the computers.” Calma added CICT do project briefings to the school personnel before the schools are officially given computers.
“Were not just giving computers, they have counterpart responsibility—taking care of the electricity, they have to make sure that they pay for the internet, ensure the security of the school so that the units will not be stolen,” he said.
Calma said the agency conducts a yearly programme assessment to gather ideas on how to sustain the project. He adds it coordinates with stakeholders on how to improve the hardware.
“Given that we have a tropical climate, sometimes there is a certain hardware that is better suited for the provinces so we try to adapt to those needs,” he cited.
Calma said the agency used to deploy Cathode Ray Tube monitors which consumes more electricity.
“When we learn that some schools have problem in terms of budget for the electricity we resort to LCD monitors which is cost efficient,” Calma said.
He added that air-conditioning unit are also provided in the school laboratories to maintain a certain temperature for the computers.
Community sustainability workshops are also conducted in line with iSchool programme. Calma said the Local Government Unit and Parents and Teachers association representatives are invited to brainstorm ideas on how to sustain the funds and to set the long term goals for the project.
“There’s always an aspect of dialogue before moving to the second phase,” he said.
The iSchools project is supported by the CICT eGovernment fund, a special annual allocation from the government for IT-related projects
- Future Gov Asia Pacific Magazines, by Pia Rufino -
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