Increasing Broadband Internet Penetration
In the OIC Member Countries
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Tackling digital literacy in the PhilippinesWhile secondary schools do address basic digital literacy skills, they tend to provide students
with a more advanced knowledge than they would gain during their primary school years.
Viewing digital literacy as a life skill can explain its application in a student’s life well beyond
the classroom. As the global economy shifts from the manufacturing of goods to the provision
of services, workers and countries require more high-level skills to stay competitive.
Particularly in instances where students move directly from secondary or vocational school to
the workforce, the exposure they have to ICT training via the education system has the
potential to shape the trajectory of their future careers and the strength of the national
economy. Employers increasingly require digital competence, and workers with this type of
training also tend to acquire other on-the-job skills more easily. Further, the ICT industry
tends to offer higher paying, lucrative jobs, and adding financial incentive to the benefits of
obtaining advanced digital literacy.
By incorporating digital literacy training into the secondary school system, policy makers can
effectively bridge the digital divide, thus creating more equal workforce opportunity amongst
the population. Further, employees comfortable with using the technology at work are more
likely to see its value within the household.
Given that most countries now require secondary school attendance, this environment seems
to serve as the ideal setting in which to introduce citizens to basic and advanced ICT training.
Training cannot come to fruition, however, without the necessary technology. In addition to
developing effective and applicable lesson plans, educators and policy makers must also
consider the provision of personal computers coupled with broadband connectivity. To this
end, an increasing number of government initiatives have focused on distributing laptops to
secondary students and faculty members. Some governments, such as North Carolina in the
United States, require students to pass an ICT competence exam in the seventh or eighth grade
to receive a high school diploma.
As is the case with primary school digital literacy programs, educators should have some form
of measurement or standardization in place to promote the efficacy of such initiatives.
Successful examples have included testing, certification programs, and partnerships with
international organizations. As in the case of primary school programs, successful initiatives
are also based on public and private partnerships. Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for
Students, or GILAS for short, provides public secondary schools in the Philippines with
computer labs, complete with Internet connections, software, basic hardware, and Internet
training. The initiative, which began in 2005, is a partnership between 26 corporations and
non-profit institutions that recognize the limitations of the government’s education budget.
Amongst other goals, the project aims to deliver Internet access and computer equipment for
schools, training for teachers and administrators, and the formulation of lesson plans.
By providing Internet access to schools, sponsors of the project see it as a means of bridging
the digital divide among public high school students. Only a small number of Filipino students