Scrap Cyber Education Project - Angara

Senator Edgardo J. Angara said the more than P26 billion allocated for the Cyber Education Project of the Department of Education DepEd should be used to build classrooms, ease the shortage of teachers, desks and textbooks instead of wasting money on a "cyber white elephant."

Angara has filed a resolution asking the senate to look into the P26 billion DepEd project , saying that the jumbo investment was "thoughtless spending."

Angara said that the present classroom shortage is 41,197 and this has forced elementary students to choke in crowded classrooms. The Philippine public schools system, Angara said, " has the embarrassing record as having one of the biggest class sizes in the world."

Angara said that the educational system "remains plagued with textbook and desk shortages " and even decent libraries and science rooms are rarities.

While additional investment in the ailing system is always welcome, Senator Edgardo J. Angara is "wary of the wisdom" of the $465.5-million Cyber Education Project (CEP) of the Department of Education (DepEd).

"We need to prod into the methodology, content, cost and technology to be utilized for this multi-billion project," said Angara who filed a Senate Resolution directing the Senate Committees on Education, Science and Technology and Public Information and Mass Media to inquire on the proposed project.

CEP will use satellites to deliver educational services to 90% of public elementary and secondary schools throughout the country. It will link all schools to a nationwide network that will provide 12 video channels.

"Aside from being ambitious and costly, no studies have yet been made regarding the effectiveness of TV-based instruction in basic education," said Angara. "At the very least, CEP can be considered as an auxiliary tool in learning."

He added, "In the context of our ever growing number of classroom and teacher shortages, spending on CEP will be a mere thoughtless spending of our limited financial resources and an added burden to our taxpayers."

P22.7 billion (85%) of the project will be financed though a loan from China and the remaining P3.71 billion (14%) by the Philippine government.

"This amount is more than enough to meet the current classroom shortage, recruit more bright teachers, train and retrain teachers, and acquire desks and textbooks," said Angara.