Bukidnon’s hundreds of information technology students are at par with their counterparts in Davao City, considered the hub of IT development in Mindanao, University of Immaculate Conception Prof. Melquiades R. Hayag Jr. said.
”Bukidnon’s IT students are at par with those in Davao and other cities in Mindanao in terms of their intellectual and attitude attributes and their resourcefulness,” Hayag told this reporter after giving a lecture on Artificial Intelligence during an ICT seminar entitled Multi-media and ICT Education in Bukidnon.
The seminar, held in the Mountain View College Annex in Valencia City, gathered at least 200 students from schools offering IT courses in the province. He said despite the lack of resources in the province compared to Davao’s IT companies and libraries, Bukidnon’s students are not left behind.
Hayag cited that both students and teachers easily adapt to advance technology in IT. But he said that majority of the students still have “pure minds” and are still free from distractions such as pornography and games addiction, they can focus more on learning.
He cited that internet cafes he had been to in Bukidnon’s towns and cities are still filled with researches, not gamers.
Hayag said one of the reasons of the students’ competence is that Bukidnon’s academic institutions are catching up in their IT programs. He cited the infrastructure backbone being put up by a telecommunications company for the fiber optic technology boosting prospects for better broadband internet service.
He cited that all schools offering IT in the province have sent their IT teachers to further study like Master’s degree in Information Technology. ”These are ground works for better capacity of the province to accommodate IT companies and ICT outsourcing firms (call centers and medical transcriptions),” he said.
Hayag cited that only UIC and Ateneo De Davao University have Masters programs on IT in Davao. To solve problems of students in Bukidnon who take continuing education in IT, UIC and MVC put up a consortium to offer the course in Valencia City.
He said by summer, Bukidnon will have 12 new teachers with Masters of Science in IT. ”There are only a few teachers who has MAIT competency in Davao and Bukidnon’s 12 graduates is a good harvest. It is a breakthrough,” he said.
He said the upgrade of teachers impacts on the readiness of the province to provide quality IT manpower to address the world wide trend on the role of IT.
Hayag also cited that aside from schools, local government units, business firms, and other organizations should also put up their own IT departments to address their IT needs.
Companies in Manila and abroad are particular about business technology used by an organization to cut on their communication expense and for better and faster service. He said if the province keeps track of these indicators, it will not be hard for Bukidnon to be in the IT map.
BUKIDNON OUR HOME 