PHILAB Industries Inc. has teamed up with state-owned China Educational Instrument and Equipment, Corp. (CEIEC), a commercial entity retained by the China Ministry of Education, to equip the 38,000 schools in the Philippines with Math and Science tools and facilities.
“These kits will help our public school teachers in managing their Math and Science classes and will improve the erudition of the students,” Philab President and Chief Executive Officer Hector “Tom” Navasero said.
The initiative is part of the joint venture agreement (JVA) between Philab and the CEIEC to design, construct and supply various educational facilities all over the country by 2016–2017.
Philab, the country’s pioneer scientific enabling company, hopes to equip Philippine public schools with laboratories and educational materials that will help innovate and improve the academic environment.
“Better facilities always translate to better learning experience,” Navasero said.
Philab specializes in constructing turnkey projects that build and equip scientific facilities for various institutions. CEIEC, a corporation owned by the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Education, is one of the leading companies in designing and building educational structures around the world.
“We looked for the most capable and dependable partner that will help provide the educational needs of the Filipino students. The CEIEC can do that,” Navasero said.
Navasero also noted the importance of each facility, especially with the K–12 program. He underscored the need for providing not only educational kits but also tech classrooms.
“We must ensure that all public schools are given access to tools for their science classes,” he said.
Philab and CEIEC signed the JVA in July 2015 to execute a multibillion peso educational project. The company delivered over 30,000 teaching kits nationwide and looks to complete delivery in 2017.
In the future, Philab plans to work with Philippine government departments to equip schools with these classrooms – which function as laboratories – for junior and senior high school students.
Vocational schools, meanwhile, will train students to provide the country with the necessary manpower, Navasero mentioned.
“These workers are the driving force of the economy,” he reiterated. They will likewise be assisted in teaching production-based skill sets to students and will include operating machines and manufacturing tools.
Navasero said the partnership with CEIEC is aligned with Duterte’s current policy approach with China to strengthen economic ties with one of the world’s biggest economies.
With over 58 years of serving the country’s educational needs, Philab continues to innovate the landscape of health sciences and technology in the Philippines with its key projects and advanced research facilities. Just recently, Philab broke ground the National Institute of Health of the University of the Philippines and completed the delivery of one million dengue self-test kits to regional health offices of the Department of Health. /PR