House bill filed for ‘CyberEd’ program

Published : Wednesday, September 14, 2011 00:00
Written by : NEWSBYTES.PH
 
A lawmaker who used to operate Internet gambling in the country now wants to institutionalize the implementation of a cyber education program for elementary, high school, and college education in the country.

Negros Occidental representative Alfredo “Albee” Benitez has filed House Bill 4993 to address the deteriorating quality of education in the country by utilizing information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool for achieving higher standards of learning for the students.

Prior to becoming a member of Congress, Benitez headed of First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation, the “master licensor” of “Internet gaming” at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Free Port (CSEZFP) in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

Benitez’s bill, to be called as the “Cyber Education Act”, creates the Cyber Education Development and Management Corporation (CyberEd), which shall be the principal policy-making, planning, and coordinating entity in the implementation of government programs and action plans related to cyber education.

Benitez said the CyberEd Corp shall formulate a program for cyber education planning, research and development, and monitoring of activities in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

Under the bill, a nationwide Internet network will be established to connect the 17 regional network nodes in the country.

“This will provide a 100 percent Internet and intra-net connectivity to all public elementary, secondary schools and SUCs using up-to-date ICT,” Benitez said.

Benitez said the Digital School Project will be established to provide all public elementary, secondary schools, and SUCs nationwide with the necessary physical and ICT infrastructure for ICT-based teaching and learning.

“The private and the public school teachers and school administrators shall have access to quality and affordable laptops which is in support of the current Laptop for Teachers (LT4T) program of the DepEd,” Benitez said.

Benitez said some 10 million laptops shall be distributed by the CyberEd for the next ten years after the approval of the bill.

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/technology/7232-house-bill-filed-for-cybered-program