In a survey conducted by Department of Education (DepEd), Philippines, reveals that twenty-five thousand public elementary school students are sharing one computer while the ratio for high school is 111 students per computer.
The data was presented by Department of Education (DEPED) Secretary Jesli Lapus who admitted the dire situation of the Philippine education system. In his presentation during the second National ICT Congress in Cebu City, Lapus also revealed that there are approximately 37,900 public elementary schools and another 4,769 public high schools in the Philippines. The lower PC-to-student and teacher ratio in high schools can be attributed to the massive PCs for Public Schools project started by the Department of Trade and Industry, which has already covered about 3,000 public high schools. Unfortunately, there are no similar activities at the public elementary school level. Lapus showed several problems encountered by the agency when it comes to ICT-related initiative. There is also absence of specific curricular standards and guidelines to integrate ICT in subject areas. Lapus said that while the DEPED is getting support from other government agencies to implement a national ICT for education masterplan, they still have to contend with lack of resources. He called for more help from education and ICT stakeholders as current resources are not enough.
