Power supply issues stall Mindanao initiative

BY GEEFE P. ALBA, BusinessWorld Correspondent Cagayan De Oro City — An initiative to integrate new technology at the autonomous Muslim region’s schools — involving a US government-funded program, computer giant IBM and SM Foundation — is encountering power supply-related problems. Although the program’s partners are committed to deliver the desired outputs, inadequate and unstable supply of electricity has emerged as a formidable obstacle over which they have no control. Ricardo F. de Leon, Mindanao State University-System (MSU) president, said the government through the National Transmission Corp. is expected to address this problem in "the near future." The state power transmission firm has noted completion of a 69-kilovolt line in Lanao del Sur could stabilize power supply in the area. Ironically, Lanao del Sur and Iligan City are host communities for the Agus hydroelectric power complex, which supplies over half of Mindanao’s present power needs. The island’s energy outlook has remained uncertain in both power expansion prospects as well as transmission efficiency. Both power generation and rehabilitation of transmission lines require huge investments from the government. Earlier, teachers in MSU reported what EduQuest, Inc. general manager Teresita Medado calls a "happy problem": they don’t have enough computers and peripherals to integrate the Internet into classroom instruction. EduQuest, Inc., an affiliate of Asia Pacific College, is an institution founded by IBM Philippines and the SM Foundation currently working with the US-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao program to provide IT training to local teachers. During the recognition and awards night for IBM’s eMentor Scholarship, a component of the program, held last week, Maryam Q. Manalundong, who was cited as the "Best Trainer" among the 27 graduates, said they lack the machines to enable students to learn "hands-on." But the teachers also call it a "happy problem" because Edu-Quest worked with other schools before that "over-invested" in hardware and software but eventually found little use for these tools. As a training provider and consultant on teaching strategies and tools, EduQuest designed the training course and certified the acquisition of competencies gained by teachers through the program. It was also responsible for monitoring the implementing the program by qualified and trained teachers in their own schools. The program was developed with the rationale that improving the quality of education in the autonomous Muslim region would help accelerate economic growth in Mindanao, improve the quality of life and bring about a just and lasting peace in the region. In January 2006, 30 teachers were selected from a pool of 85 program applicants using a highly competitive process. Selection criteria included reading diagnosis rating, technology skill level and professional qualifications. As program beneficiaries, each teacher-scholar committed to share the skills they acquired with at least 10 teachers from their schools within seven to 10 months after graduating from the program. From the original pool of 30 qualified applicants, 28 teacher-scholars went through an intensive eight-day training program in Davao City last year. The training taught them how to maximize information technology applications, tools and resources in the classroom to inspire greater interest among students, and also improved their ability to facilitate community participation in the learning process. Outputs and peer feedback were discussed on the last day of training. Upon returning to their respective schools, the teacher-scholars who are now mentors applied their newly acquired skills and trained at least 10 other teachers, thus increasing the base of trained and qualified teacher-users for partner schools. EduQuest monitored and evaluated the implementation of the teacher-mentors’ portfolio in their own schools. Twenty-seven teacher-mentor scholars completed the requirements of the program and graduated last Dec. 3. -BusinessWorld