Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

 

TWELFTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

 

House Bill No. 632

 

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

The world has shrunk into a single global village. Advances in science and technology have made this possible. Modern telecommunications and modes of transportation have facilitated simultaneous and fast exchange ideas, information and resources among nations. This is the global technological and scientific setting which confronts the Philippines today.

In our country’s strides to regain lost economic grounds, our people need to be attuned to the latest developments in science and technology. The Filipino youth must be scientifically and technically prepared so that their innate talents may be fully harnesses for national developments.

The proposed bill is one way of promoting scientific and technical literacy among the Filipino youth in the field of computer education.

Under the proposed bill, basics of computer applications and programming will be integrated in the school curriculum. A Board on Computer Education is created. Private sectors’ participation is enlisted through the grant of fiscal incentives to private sector participants. A voucher system is institutionalized with respect to the country’s nineteen (19) poorest provinces to make these provinces at par with the rest of the country in terms of computer literacy. Community linkages among the participants are likewise enjoined to hasten the nationwide upgrading of computer skills.

In short, this bill is intended to prepare the Filipino youth to meet the technological challenges of the 21^st Century.

Approval of this Bill is, thus, earnestly requested.

 

FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO

Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

 

TWELFTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

 

House Bill No. 632

 

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO

 

AN ACT TO INTEGRATE A COMPUTER EDUCATION PROGRAM INTO THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

 

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy – It shall be the policy of the State to promote functional computer literacy in all schools, at the earliest possible stage, and in a manner that is most efficient and effective in producing a population that is highly skilled in the creation, use and manipulation of computer software. In this regard, private sector initiative and participation shall always be encouraged to achieve this policy objective.

 

SECTION 2. Board on Computer Education; Creation, Power and Functions – A Board on Computer Education, hereafter referred to as Board, is hereby created to implement the provisions of this Act and for this purpose shall have the following powers and shall exercise the following functions:

 

(a) supervise the accreditation of the computer schools which will participate in the program;

(b) assess and provide for the necessary training of the personnel of computer schools on methods of teaching;

(c) prepare the curriculum for computer-aided logic math and science education in the elementary level;

(d) monitor the performance of the computer schools;

(e) evaluate the abilities of the students enrolled in the program;

(f) issue and implement all rules and regulations provided for in this Act; and

(g) exercise all other powers and functions which may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

 

Section 3. Board Composition – The Board shall be composed of the following Members:

 

(a) One (1) representative from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to be nominated by the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports;

(b) One (1) representative from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to be nominated by the CHED Chairman;

(c) One (1) representative from the Department of Science and Technology to be nominated by the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology;

(d) One (1) representative from the duly accredited professional organizations of computer programmers and system analysts to be nominated by the recognized leadership of these organizations;

(e) One (1) representative from the National Economic Development Authority, to be nominated by the Secretary-General of the National Economic Development Authority;

The representative from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall serve as the Chairman of the Board.

The Chairman and the Members shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines for a term of five (5) years and shall have the rank and compensation of a Bureau Director.

 

SECTION 4. Promotion of the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme and other similar arrangements – The provision of the Republic Act No. 6957, as amended, shall be applied to the construction, operation and servicing of computer education and its facilities, Provided, That any contractual arrangement that will be utilized for this purpose shall additionally provide for the following:

(a) A training program for teachers not only on computer literacy but also on the maintenance and service of computer education facilities; and

(b) An apprenticeship program for interested students of the public school being serviced whereby they may be employed as apprentices for the education component or for the facilities maintenance component of computer education.

The build-operate-transfer arrangement or any other similar arrangements provided for in Republic Act No. 6957, as amended, may be bidded out and awarded at the school district level or at the school level, in accordance with the implementing rules and regulations to be issued by the Board.

 

SECTION 5. Institutionalization of the Voucher System for Specialized Computer Education in the Nineteen (19) poorest provinces. In addition, to whatever contractual arrangement which may be utilized under the provisions of Section 4 hereof, there shall be created a voucher system for specialized computer education in the country’s nineteen (19) poorest provinces whereby each of these provinces shall be given the amount of five Million (P5,000,000.00) Pesos each year from the annual budget allocated for the implementation of the specialized computer education program, or such amount as may be later provided by law, to enroll in a computer school of his or her choice, to finish  advance and specialized computer courses such as, but not limited to, advanced programming, computer aided design, hardware design, networking, or such other courses that may be identified by the Board.

Each student shall be entitled to only one voucher. The Board shall issue the implementing rules and regulations to ensure that students do not enroll in more than one school, or that enrollment figures reflect actual enrollment. Student found guilty of violating this one-voucher-per-student rule shall be subject to the penalties provided hereunder.

 

SECTION 6. Accreditation of Computer Education Service Providers. – All entities shall participating in the activities described in Sections 4 and 5 hereof must be accredited by the Board as bona fide participants. The accreditation must be renewed for every period of not less than one year but not more than five years. Accreditation shall be based on the following criteria:

a) The curriculum meets the standards provided for by the Board;

b) The quality of the computers and other peripherals to be provided and the other physical infrastructures to be built, operated or used which must ensure quality of education and minimum standards for evaluating teaching ability; and

c) With respect to renewal applications, the performance of the students on performance measures to be designed by the Board.

 

SECTION 7. Curriculum of Publicity-funded Computer Education. – The computer literacy program acknowledges the vital participation of the private sector in the scheme, but the curriculum shall be prepared by the Board.

 

The curriculum should make use of computer-assisted education to teach elementary students the basic courses of math, science and logic. These courses will prepare the student for the demands of computer programming and system analysis, as well as strengthen the learning the student receives from the formal education system.

The Board will also prepare the curriculum for the computer programming and popular software utilization, which will be taught at the high school level.

 

SECTION 8. Monitoring and Incentive on Performance. – Monitoring of the program shall be done to maintain the quality of education being given to the students. Performance measures shall include, but not limited to, the following:

 

a. periodic renewal accreditation or license to operate;

b. testing;

c. national competitions; and,

d. unannounced visits to participating schools.

 

The Board shall formulate or commission the formulation of a performance index which will be used in assessing the performance of the participating schools. The latest results of the evaluation of all schools shall be published before the start of every school year.

The Board shall formulate a system rewards and incentives to promote excellence among the service providers.

 

SECTION 9. Tax-free Importation of Computer Hardware and Software. All entities who have been accredited, or who have obtained contracts as participants in the activities provided for in Sections 4 and 5 hereof shall be given fiscal incentives.

These incentives shall include the tax-free importation of all computer hardware, software, peripherals and documentary materials. However, these incentives shall be limited to imports that are intended for the schools. These incentives shall last for a period of not more than ten years from the effectivity of this Act.

The Board shall issue the implementing rules and regulations for the availment of the incentives described herein.

 

SECTION 10. Phased Implementation. – The computer education program shall be implemented in phases to ensure that program and infrastructure requirements shall be met, to prepare the private sector for the demand for computer schools and equipment, and to prime-up the local demand for computer-literate workers.

The implementation shall be done in accordance with the following objectives.

 

a) the graduation, one year from the effectivity of this Act, of a corps of high school students who can manipulate the most popular computer application  programs in the areas of word processing, database encoding and spreadsheets;

b) the graduation, three years from the effectivity of this Act, of a corps of high school students who are not only literate in the applications described in paragraph (a) herein, but also in basic programming and system analysis; and,

c) the immediate use of computer-aided education which will compliment the academic instructions in math, science and logic.

 

SECTION 11. Community Linkage. – Other softwares and computer programming may be taught by the schools and service providers under a community link-up system whereby additional training on the use of special software can be paid for by interested business or manufacturing firms in the community. The business community will also be encouraged to expand and update their manufacturing procedures to achieve efficiency through computerization or computer-controlled processes.

 

SECTION 12. Budget and Funding. – An initial of One Hundred Million Pesos (P100,000,000.00) to be disbursed from the earnings of the lotteries conducted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is hereby appropriated for the payment of the services to be provided under Section 4 and 5 of this Act as well as for the expenses related to the establishment and operation of the Board. Thereafter, the necessary for the continuous implementation of this Act shall be included in the yearly General Appropriations Act.

The administrative expenses related to the implementation of this Act shall be more than (3%) percent of the annual appropriations for this Computer Education Program.

 

SECTION 13. Penalties. – Any person found guilty of violating the provisions of Section 5 hereof shall be meted the following penalties:

a) The student shall pay the full cost of tuition, with interest thereon. The payment may be in cash or in its equivalent in terms of community service.

b) The accreditation of the service providers found guilty of padding their enrollment figures, or for knowingly permitting a student to violate the provisions of Section 5 hereof, without prejudice to the payment of twice the amount of reimbursement resulting from the padded enrollment as fine.

 

SECTION 14. Rules and Regulations. – Within forty-five (45) days from the effectivity of this Act, the Board shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act.

 

SECTION 15. Separability Clause. – In the event that any provisions of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the validity of the other provisions shall not be affected by such declaration.

 

SECTION 16. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or portions thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

 

SECTION 17. Effectivity. – This law shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

 

Approved,

 

NOTE:  CONSOLIDATED INTO HB#1097