EDITORIAL - Digital divide

Information technology has linked the globe more closely than at any time in history. The Internet has become such a powerful tool for information dissemination that repressive regimes have banned their people from logging on or tried to curtail access to cyberspace. Even terrorists living in the war-ravaged areas of South and Central Asia are wired; investigators say terrorist networks have learned to send electronic messages through encryption.

E-mail, e-commerce, a world of information at one’s fingertips – people with no access to such a powerful tool will be left so far behind by the wired world. Concerns have been raised about a widening digital divide between rich and poor. The Philippines, where public schools lack even desks, chairs and textbooks, is grappling with this problem.

A recent report said only 1.8 percent of public schools nationwide have Internet access, and only 14 percent of public school teachers can use a computer. This was one of the findings in a study conducted in 1999 among 405,973 teachers in 39,800 public schools. The results of the study, initiated by Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta when she chaired the committee on education in the 11th Congress, were compiled in a book presented last week to the Foundation for the Upgrading of the Standard of Education.

Computers are beyond the reach of millions of impoverished Filipinos. For these people, even an hour of Internet access in a cybercafe or computer center can cost a fortune. The country, however, can’t afford to be left behind in information technology. Filipinos must get acquainted with cyberspace, preferably starting at an early age. Because of budget constraints, the government can turn to the private sector for help in providing public schools computers and training. If the government is targeting the installation of at least one telephone in every barangay, why not a computer as well?

Getting the nation wired will require a more-than-passing acquaintance with English, the lingua franca of IT. Unless the nation can develop computers that use Filipino, the government must improve the teaching of English alongside efforts to educate the people about cyberspace. These are not impossible tasks. Before the digital divide becomes a yawning chasm, national leaders must act.