Education Secretary Jesli Lapus says the country could ill-afford to lose the $400 million (P26.4 billion) Cyber Education Project (CEP) undertaken by his department as it will help improve the quality of education. He said CEP would address “completely” the fundamental problem of resource gap and will help in delivering good quality education for all.

He reiterated CEP is not “connected” with the controversial $329 million broadband deal with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. Lapus dismissed the possibility that the forthcoming investigations by both houses of Congress on CEP could stand in the way of the project’s implementation next year.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, who said he will initiate the probe, said the P26.4 billion should instead go to the "main drive" of education, which means good teachers, adequate classrooms, books, chairs and desks.
Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casino said they will investigate allegations linking CEP with the broadband deal. Lapus admitted there is a possibility the CEP will be affected if the government decides to scrap the broadband deal. “Maybe China will be upset by what is happening now, who knows they might change their mind in pushing through with the agreement on CEP," he said.

DepEd will implement CEP in partnership with China’s top technology university, Tsinghua University, which manages the China Education and Research Network that covers 320 million beneficiaries. It is a satellite-based distance education program which provides real-time interactivity to public schools. The project will link all DepEd administrative units including the central office, 17 regional offices, 187 division offices and 37,792 public schools.