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MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) says it is making progress towards its goal of making public high school education completely accessible over the Internet.

A project by the commission called “e-eskwela” (electronic school) aims to digitize the entire high school curriculum as an alternative to taking it in the normal classroom setting.

The project involves a partnership between the CICT and the Bureau of Alternative Learning Systems (formerly the Bureau of Non-Formal Education), which is under the Department of Education or DepEd.

Of the total 80 modules (20 for each year of high school), around 40 have been digitized and made available online, said CICT commissioner Tim Diaz de Rivera.

The CICT has piloted the online modules in four designated e-learning centers, located in Roces Avenue in Quezon City, San Jose, Bulacan, Mandaue City in Cebu and Cagayan De Oro City.

These centers are located in public schools or designated Telof (Telecommunications Office) government calling offices.

“The e-learning modules are ideally targeted at high school drop-outs or out-of-school youths who wish to finish and get a high school diploma, especially those who feel they are too old to go to school,” Diaz de Rivera said in a phone interview.

The e-eskwela project is part of a larger ICT for Basic Education project that attempts to develop e-learning components for primary and secondary public school education.

ICT for Basic Education, a priority project mandated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, also covers providing computers to public high schools. The entire project receives around P400 million in funding each year.