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Last week, a public high school in Floridablanca, Pampanga, became the first school to receive Smart Communication’s high-speed wireless Internet connection.

In spite of the presence of different Internet shops in the town proper, the Paguiruan High School (PHS) is a “dead” spot. Thanks to Smart, it received the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), a technology that enables high-speed wireless Internet connection to a wider area.

The  turn-over ceremony was held last Wednesday at the school, attended by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Smart chairman Manuel Pangilinan. During the ceremony, Arroyo expressed her gratitude to Pangilinan.

“We should thank Manny for always helping the province. Now, let’s thank him again for providing Internet connection,” the president said. She said Smart’s initiative was a “God-sent contribution to the government’s aspiration to provide computer connectivity in every high school.”

Arroyo also said that information and communication technology (ICT) should serve as the foundation of progress. “It’s difficult to have no access to the Internet. Though we have few computer sets, what is important is these are connected to the Internet,” she said.

For his part, Pangilinan thanked Arroyo for her vision of tapping into ICT as a tool for learning. Pangilinan, who was also from Pampanga and a native of Apalit town, said that Smart had already provided broadband Internet access to 272 public and private schools in the country under the Smart Schools Program.

The school principal, Jesusa Agustin, said the Department of Education (DepEd) gave them 11 desktop computer sets last year. ICT coordinator of PHS, Chito Ramos, said the basic computer training that they received from DepEd would come in handy as they teach the students the proper ways of using Internet-connected computers to enhance learning.