City government partners with Department of Science and Technology for project
The 27 barangays in Mandaue City will soon have technology or techno centers.
These are areas where people in the barangay especially those underserved or from the marginalized sector can gain access to the Internet for free or for a P10 per hour fee for the use of the barangay computers.
The Mandaue city government and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) signed last Tuesday an agreement to set up e-Filipino Technology for Economic Development (Tech4Ed) centers in Mandaue City.
Barangay Subangdaku will be the pilot site.
“We are tapping a Tech-Voc School where we can use additional computers for the program,” said Subangdaku barangay captain Ernie Manatad.
According to the agreement, the barangays may impose a maximum of P10 per hour for the use of the computers in the techno centers or they may offer it for free.
The techno centers will serve as a hub for the community giving them access to information and communications technology, government services, non-formal education, skills training, telehealth service, job markets, and business portals, which can give individuals and communities in rural and urban poor areas opportunities for inclusive growth” said Assistant Secretary Beatrice Quimson of the DOST.
With a single ICT platform, e-Filipino Techno Centers will make it easier for the underserved and those from the marginalized sector to use the Internet to upgrade their literacy level, increase their knowledge and skill sets to gain employment.
Quimson said an out-of-school individual can go to the barangay techno center and study the basics of different subjects using a user-friendly computer to prepare himself for the time when he or she will be ready to take an Accreditation and Equivalency Test.
The DOST aims to set up techno centers in every municipality.
The agency is targeting 42,000 cities and municipalities for the project in five years with a budget of P66 million.
Quimson said they will focus first on local government units that are ready for the program.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes described the project as a leap in making the educational system responsive to the needs of the people and the economy.
“Our dream of inclusive growth is further fulfilled with the introduction of Tech for Economic Development (Tech4D) by the Department of Science and Technology,” Cortes said in his speech during the signing of the agreement.
He said that this innovative approach would help introduce Filipinos to the digital environment and improve their lives.
“We are happy to be one of the identified cities partnering with the DOST-ICT for the initial roll-out of the Techno Centers,” he said.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
