Japanese lend helping hand in IT education

The Japanese government is working hand-in-hand with the Arroyo administration in sharpening the information technology skills of Filipino students, it was learned.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, during his brief two-day state visit, personally turned over to several local schools Japanese donated computers.

The Japanese donated computers are part of the program initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry called "Personal Computers for Public High Schools (PCs for PHS).

Under the program, personal computers would be distributed to public high schools nationwide. Most of these schools have never had computers before.

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II said the program aims to reach students in the rural areas who cannot afford to pay for computer training.

He said providing students with computers "gives them an equal chance to join the ranks of IT professionals and a crack at better paying jobs."

According to Roxas, "helping students acquire basic computer skills is important to give them a competitive edge in a working atmosphere dominated by IT."

He expressed hopes that most of the students who benefit from the program will in the future "be part of a global resource employable by corporations, as this will not only help these individuals and their families improve their economic situation, but the country as well."

He pointed out that the government is trying to ensure that the country’s pool of IT workers remain adequate to meet continuing demand.

A remote barangay school in San Fabian, Pangasinan – the Inmalog National High School – was among the first batch of public high schools to benefit from the PCs for PHS project with the turnover by Koizumi of the donated computers.

As planned, 1,000 public high schools all over the country will be provided a computer laboratory package consisting of 20 PCs, two printers, one external CD-ROM and one modem.

At least 220,000 senior high school students will receive about 6.7 hours per week of computer-aided education in the first year of the program.

The Japanese government has earmarked about P600 million to purchase 20,000 computers and distribute it to the 1,000 public high schools.

An initial 310 high schools in Regions 3, 4, 5, the National Capital Region and Pangasinan have so far received computer units as of December last year.

Deliveries to the rest of the public high schools are scheduled before the opening of the next school year.

Teachers from the 1,000 high schools have undergone training from Intel Philippines.