Global Policy Forum

By Sofia McFarland

Teaching Computer Science has been a lot easier for Jonathan Domingo since his class was given computers. Domingo used to show students drawings of computer screens and pass around a mouse and cables he brought from home. But last year his school--the Mayamot Extension of the Antipolo National High School--received 10 new computers, courtesy of a local subsidiary of the Mexican cement company Cemex. Cemex Philippines operates a plant close to the school on the outskirts of Manila and made the donation to show its commitment to the community. The computers pole-vaulted Domingo's students across this particular technology gap.

Cynics may ask why a school should have to rely on a foreign company for what in many countries is a basic educational tool. The reality is that while many of Southeast Asia's governments want to build "knowledge-based societies" or make information technology a key aspect of education, it's the private sector that's driving many such initiatives.

Eager to earn good corporate-citizenship points, large companies have jumped in to provide Internet-ready PCs for schools across Asia. Whether their motivation is to appease the anti-globalization lobby or to create lasting partnerships with communities, companies are increasingly turning to strategic philanthropy. Long-term, it makes sense: They earn goodwill for their brand and, when it comes to recruiting, there is a pool of computer-literate candidates.

Business efforts are encouraged by decision makers and are carried out to a varying degree in conjunction with governments. In the Philippines, for example, the government has joined with the private sector in a project--PCs for Public Schools--which encourages companies to donate computers to schools.

True, with their deep pockets and brisk problem-solving skills, many firms' projects have a leg up on bureaucratic government schemes. But are governments wise to leave such key projects to corporate interests?

Many say yes. Such initiatives "must be led by the private sector, because at the end of the day, in technology the leading edge is with the private sector," says Roberto Romulo, chairman of the e-Asean Task Force, a group composed of representatives of the public and private sectors that advises Southeast Asia's countries on IT strategies. "I think it's extremely important that the private sector leads by example."

That example is less crucial in the region's more developed countries. Singapore's government is firmly in control of plans to improve an already-wired education system and aims to have one computer for every two students by 2003. In Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's vision for a knowledge-based economy provides the framework for education initiatives that may involve private firms but is not dependent on them.

SILENT AGREEMENT

In the region's less affluent countries, governments often find themselves turning to the private sector, not just for funds but also for expertise. Often, a silent agreement exists: In return for a liberal business environment, communities will benefit from a company's profits--many firms set aside funds for "corporate-citizenship" programmes.

In the Philippines, tech companies like Microsoft and Intel have worked since the mid-to-late 1990s to provide training and equipment to schools. Recently, nontech firms such as Coca-Cola and Citibank have been getting in on the act. Computer literacy is seen as an area where their support can provide instant benefits. "When the company does any community programme, it wants it to be the most relevant at that time and the digital divide certainly is that," says Stuart Hawking, public-affairs manager of Coca-Cola Asia.

It's not always easy. Businesses have realized that they can't simply plonk down computers in a school. It takes planning, groundwork and, of course, money to wire a school successfully. Coca-Cola has set aside $350,000 to wire 15 schools in the Philippines.

Often, provincial village schools are ill-equipped for their hi-tech offerings. So companies first make sure the school can do its part, extracting pledges of maintenance and an air-conditioned room before they ship the computers. Companies usually pay for teacher training and a year of Internet access too.

In Dumanjug, a small fishing town in the central province of Cebu, the Bitoon National Vocational School has a computer lab courtesy of Coca-Cola. Upper-grade students receive 40 minutes computer training every other day, with two students sharing a PC. Meanwhile, in another part of the school, 20 new computers sit in their boxes. They were sent by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports in May and are still waiting delivery to a nearby school that hasn't yet prepared a secure, air-conditioned room for the PCs--one illustration of the cash-strapped government needing corporate help.

Coca-Cola avoided such mishaps by working with local partners, such as the non-governmental Foundation for Information Technology, Education and Development, which sent advance teams to get the school ready ahead of delivery. The government lacks the resources for such detailed groundwork and projects often get slowed down by red tape.

Like the PCs for Public Schools project: With a Japanese-government grant, the Philippines government plans to put 20 computers in each of 1,000 of the Philippines' 4,209 high schools. That is, once the project gets off the ground. It was announced over a year ago, but the bidding process to find hardware suppliers is still not completed.

The change in government as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over from the ousted Joseph Estrada in January has also meant delays.

Meanwhile, businesses have stepped in. Companies supporting the plan, with offers of phone-line connections, scanners, printers and training, decided to move ahead under the coordination of the Makati Business Club, a business group involved in community projects. "We can't let the infrastructure sit and wait and not be used," says the club's executive director, Guillermo Luz.

In a more sceptical environment, companies would first have to show proof of good faith before working with schools. In the Philippines, it's the government officials who worry about maintaining credibility in the eyes of the private sector. "The private sector doesn't always help," says Dita Maralit, director of the Department of Trade and Industry's Office of Special Concerns. "They help if they believe that the project is good." Thus, she works to ensure standards set by the private sector are followed and that the government delivers on its side of deals.

It works both ways. There are areas where the private sector has to turn to the government for help. A few years ago, when Microsoft wanted to donate software in the form of free samples, it was taxed 10% of its value, a cost it decided to absorb. Maralit's office now works to facilitate donations from overseas by arranging for tax exemptions and duty-free entry.

Companies are also eager to fit themselves into a larger goal articulated by government. Hawking, who has helped set up Coca-Cola schools projects in Malaysia, Vietnam and China, is eager to point out that Coke doesn't want to drive the agenda in these projects. "The real focus is contributing to a national effort," he says. "I think we try to tread very carefully with this project in all these countries and it's not seen as a marketing programme."

That has also been the conclusion of the United Nations Development Programme. In an endeavour testifying to international organizations' new willingness to embrace private-sector partnerships, UNDP is working with Coke on an e-learning project in Malaysia where the Ministry of Education is the third partner. "Coca-Cola has time and time again showed that they're not interested in bringing Coca-Cola into the schools," says Joyce Yu, UNDP's deputy resident representative in Kuala Lumpur. "They are interested in the same thing we are, and that is bridging the digital divide."

In the Philippines, most private-sector projects go the last mile: Where the government puts stand-alone PCs in the schools, companies connect the schools to the Web.

This newfound connectedness is having a knock-on effect: In many rural areas, the school may be the only place with access to the Web. The issue of what a school can been used for has been a thorny one, but schools are beginning to open up. The idea of being able to collect user fees for e-mail and Internet access that can help pay for the PCs' maintenance and power costs have made inroads. "For the first time, we're getting agreement from the government that the schools can be used beyond school hours," says Luz of the Makati Business Club.

Whereas Coca-Cola has picked out 15 schools with working phone lines, Microsoft is spreading its project as far as Batanes, an isolated island province in the typhoon belt south of Taiwan, where it will rely on satellite connections.

The Microsoft computer-lab package--eight computers, a server, laser colour printer, scanner, digital camera, software, training and Internet access for a year--costs around 1.5 million pesos ($28,986) and may seem almost too state-of-the-art for some schools. But donating used computers is not Microsoft's way. "We're a technology company. If we give something, we don't want to give old stuff," says Sam Jacoba, business-development director.

Back at the Mayamot school, Domingo's students tap happily on real PCs. Learning used to be in the abstract; it doesn't matter to them whether it was the government or a cement maker that made it concrete.

COSTLY CONNECTION

The Bitoon National Vocational School in Cebu was excited about the computers it was getting from Coca-Cola. Staff quickly cleared a room and fitted it with an air-conditioner. It soon discovered free PCs ease one burden, but bring another: costs. Monthly electricity bills increased by $114 after the PCs were installed. To meet the costs, the school laid off four maintenance staff.

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