Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian pressed Tuesday for a “more efficient rollout” of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) computerization program to boost “distance learning.”
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, reminded in a news statement issued on Tuesday that though the Bureau of Customs repeatedly donated seized gadgets to the DepEd to support distance learning, the DepEd, in turn, should also ensure a more efficient implementation of its own computerization program.
“The DepEd Computerization Program [DCP] aims to respond to the computer backlog of public schools and provide these schools with appropriate technologies to enhance the teaching-learning process and meet the challenges of the 21st century,” he said, noting that the DCP also aims to provide computer laboratory packages to secondary schools, e-classroom to elementary schools, and laptops for mobile teachers.
The senator pointed out that even as the DCP got a P5.9-billion allocation under the 2021 General Appropriations Act, the program was “hounded by implementation woes, which should be immediately addressed.”
Gatchalian recalled that the Commission on Audit (COA) 2019 report noted that from 2015 to 2019, the DCP only met 59.43 percent of its target, which meant only 8,523 out of 14,342 targeted schools nationwide received ICT packages. The COA, he added, also flagged more than P3.2 billion in payments to suppliers in 2019 which, he said, were not supported by documentary requirements.
The senator added that an inspection by the audit body revealed that “some schools were not ready to receive the packages because they lack multimedia or computer rooms, proper electrical groundings, wirings and circuit breaker, and window grills.”
Moreover, he noted that ICT coordinators also reported some suppliers did not provide after-sales services. “Some of them could no longer be reached through contact details provided,” Gatchalian found out, lamenting that “this prevented schools from availing of warranty privileges and let suppliers escape liability.”
At the same time, Gatchalian indicated he is eyeing options to file a bill that “aims to provide laptops and Internet allowances to the country’s K to 12 learners.”
Image credits: Roy Domingo
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