Most high schools lack Internet link
Helen Flores
Philippine Star
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) recently reported that a majority of public and private high schools in the country still have no Internet access.
Ester Ogena, director of the Science Education Institute of the DOST, said the 2003 SEI study showed that 70.2 percent of 6,313 public and private high school respondents have computers but only 21.9 percent of these have Internet connection.
Ogena said a separate government study in 2003 also found that the availability of computers in schools helps generate students’ interest to learn.
“We looked into other factors that make students interested to learn and studies showed that computers played a significant role especially with Internet connection,” Ogena said.
The survey showed that a majority or 70.2 percent of secondary schools nationwide have computers and 29.8 percent do not have computers.
Metro Manila has the highest proportion of schools with computers with 91.8 percent; followed by Central Luzon or Region III (83.9 percent), Cagayan Valley or Region II (81.1 percent), and Southern Tagalog or Region IV (74.2 percent).
However, the study showed that more than half of the schools (55.4 percent) do not have Internet connection. Only 21.9 percent of the schools are connected to the Internet while 22.6 percent did not specify whether they are connected to the Internet or not.
Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog have the most number of schools that are connected to the Internet. On the other hand, Regions I, III, IV, VI and VII have the most number of schools that are not connected to the Internet.
Most of the respondents indicated that they acquired their computers by means of donations, 44.7 percent, and school funds, 25.5 percent.
A majority or 35.1 percent of the donated computers came from government organizations, followed by public officials, 25.8 percent; non-government organizations, 15.4 percent; private individuals, 13.4 percent; and local organizations, including Parents Teachers Association, 10.4 percent.
Most of the respondents indicated that they use computers in the laboratory (22.2 percent), followed by for teaching science and mathematics, 15.9 percent; for preparing instructional materials, 13 percent; and for computing grades, 12.3 percent. Around 16 percent indicated that they use computers for other purposes.
The survey also showed that 58.9 percent of the schools indicated that they have plans of procuring additional computers while only 13.2 percent do not have such plans. Twenty-eight percent of the schools did not specify their intention of procuring additional computers.
Region IV has the most number of schools that have plans of procuring additional computers followed by the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions I, III, VI and VII.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the least number of schools with no plans of buying additional computers, the study said.
Among the schools without computers, 54.7 percent wish to procure computers by means of donations or fundraising.
Around 14.2 percent are hoping that the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education would provide them and only 9.5 percent depends on school funds. Only 0.4 percent of the schools planned to tie up with computer schools to be able to have computers.
Among the schools with no plans of procuring additional computers, lack of funds is the reason cited by 54.2 percent. A little less than a quarter or 23.6 percent decided not to procure computers because they have no electricity or telephone lines. About 8.3 percent do not have rooms to house the computers while 2.8 percent have preference on other concerns.
In 1998, the DOST launched its “Interconnectivity Project,” which aims to connect selected public schools in Central Luzon to the Internet as part of its drive to integrate information technology in the country’s economic development and global competitiveness efforts.
The interconnectivity project initiated Internet connection in Region IV, VI, XI, and one high school in the NCR. The municipality of Virac, Catanduanes in Region V was connected to the Internet with the installation of fiber optics system loop in 2000, the DOST said.
Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro earlier said the DOST aims to harness information technology for more effective teaching and learning in selected secondary and tertiary schools in the country.
The schools developed institutional competency in network administration and maintenance, the DOST said.
