Will PPP work? For Internet connectivity, it did

LAST WEEK, donations in the millions of pesos were announced for a computer and Internet literacy program. It could just be another fund-raising activity if not for the fact that almost half of the donors were local government units — some representing the remotest parts of Mindanao with several topping the pledges made by multinational companies.

GILAS provides Internet connectivity to public high schools to help enhance the students’ learning experience.
GILAS provides Internet connectivity to public high schools to help enhance the students’ learning experience.

This was the scene during the celebration of another milestone in the history of a corporate social responsibility project called Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students or GILAS.

Rolled out in 2005 by a consortium of private companies led by Ayala Corp., the initiative seeks to connect to the Internet all 6,784 public high schools in the country.

Five years hence, GILAS has shown that the private sector can step into the shoes of the government in addressing the Internet connectivity problem in the country’s public schools.

Through the years, it has also become a bigger version of previously launched computer donation projects deployed by a number of private companies and government agencies.

As of last week, GILAS was able to finance the Internet connectivity rollout in 3,010 secondary schools, benefiting some 3.5 million students, most of whom are studying in the country’s most depressed provinces and municipalities. These schools are so far-flung with no connection to the power and phone lines and with Internet access made possible only through the aid of satellite technology and solar cells.

The number of schools reached by GILAS to date accounts for about 44% of the total, even exceeding the original target it had set in place five years ago when the total number of public schools in the country was fewer, said Ayala Foundation, Inc. president Victoria P. Garchitorena in an interview.

“It’s a great stride. We have been helping millions and millions of Filipino youths access the information on the Internet,” she said.

While covering more than half of the target is a feat that is remarkable enough, the active participation of the government as of late has given the project a big boost.

Both government officials and major stakeholders of GILAS have described the initiative as a successful test case to the now ubiquitous public-private partnership (PPP) scheme that was recently launched by the Aquino government.

Considered as the centerpiece economic program of the new administration, the PPP initiative will cover as many as 80 infrastructure projects worth P740 billion in total. For it to work, it will need funding support from both the government and the private sector.

For the initial set of 11 projects that will be up for bidding next year, for instance, construction costs for the five projects will be shouldered by the government while some of the financing for the remaining six projects will come from private firms.

For its part, Ms. Garchitorena said the Department of Education (DepEd) has begun to include Internet connectivity, supplies and maintenance in its annual budget. Based on the latest data provided by the department to GILAS, 173 secondary schools in the country to date have no computer laboratories.

During last week’s celebration to mark GILAS reaching 3,000 public high schools, provincial and municipal governments of beneficiary schools pledged to support the initiative, committing donations in the millions of pesos.

From the private sector, GILAS has received some P160 million in cash and kind since it was set up five years ago.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Corp. chairman and co-chairman of the GILAS Consortium, described the pool of private companies supporting the project as “perhaps the most diversified and multilayered” as competing companies have found themselves working together for this project.

“We are still looking for private sector support in terms of training the teacher as well as teaching the teachers on how to use the computers to enhance their ability to teach because right now it’s just being used for digital literacy,” said Ms. Garchitorena.

For its part, the DepEd has vowed to take a more active role in the project’s implementation.

“For DepEd, it will not only accept donations but will also become part of accountability. We can do unannounced visits to ensure that DepEd is using every centavo,” DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin A. Luistro said in his speech at last week’s program.

He even admitted that the department had never included the need for computers in its list of committed priorities until now, with the agency pushing to address the perennial and most pressing needs such as constructing more classrooms and toilets and hiring more teachers.

“We could not just do more of the same,” Mr. Luistro said, echoing the dream of the project’s stakeholders to achieve 100% connectivity in all public high schools by the start of the next school year in June.” –MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Online Editor, Businessworld