Feasibility of Opening

A Four-Year Ladderized

ICT Course for the

Out-of-School Youths and

Adults in Barangay Tablon,

Cagayan de Oro City

Submitted to

DR. RICARDO E. ROTORAS For DEM 611 – Quantitative Approaches to Management

Mindanao University of Science and Technology

Submitted by

RAY BUTCH D. MAHINAY Ph.D. in Educational Planning and Management 1

School Year 2010-2011

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

The advent of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the global

village has made it imperative for children, youth and adults today to gain access to

information through various means. This requires learners to develop skills in ICT to

keep in step with the rest of the world. The changes brought about by shifting national

development goals as well as emerging needs and demands of a high-wired society,

technological advances and various forms of transformation requires that everyone

strive for a well-rounded and relevant education.

In the National Statistics Office-Region X website, it has been recorded in 2008

that the majority (or 38%) of the TVET enrollees are with the ICT-related courses. It must

sound good for a country aiming for technological advancement that many has the

interest to ICT. Apparently though, the mushrooming of computer schools is not a

guarantee that everybody has the access to ICT training considering its high tuition

costs.

It is in the Philippine Education for All (EFA) 2015 National Action Plan that there

should be universal coverage of out-of-school youths and adults (OSYAs) in the provision

of learning needs. Acknowledging that ICT skills are basic nowadays, this calls for an

action to bring these people back to the classroom setting where they will experience

fundamental computer training.

If the 41,945 barangays in our country will work for this cause, the EFA National

Action Plan is attainable. RA 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 can give a legal

ground as it states that “subject to availability of funds and to existing laws, rules and

regulations the LGU shall establish and provide for the operation of vocational and

technological schools and similar post-secondary institutions…” It is seen that if every

Filipino is skilled, it provides the formula for economic success as a nation.

Hence, it is proposed that there will be an offering of a four-year ladderized ICT course

for the OSYAs in Barangay Tablon, Cagayan de Oro City through its local government. Capsule

details of its system and feasibility are presented herein.

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The main objective of this study is to determine the technical and financial

feasibility of offering a four-year ladderized ICT course for OSYAs in Barangay Tablon,

Cagayan de Oro City.

Specifically, this study aims the following:

1. To assess the technical considerations of the course offering which includes the

(a) possible enrollment; (b) training site and facilities; (c) administration and

management; (d) curriculum; and (e) trainors.

2. To evaluate the financial aspects of the project such that it will be affordable to

the OSYAs and self-sustaining in its long-term implementation.

Figure 1. Schema for the feasibility study showing the collaboration of LGU-Tablon and Tablon

NHS in offering a 4-year ladderized ICT course in the barangay.

O B J E C T I V E S O F T H E S T U D Y

C O N C E P T U A L D E S I G N

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

UNIT OF BARANGAY

TABLON

(RA 7160)

TABLON NATIONAL HIGH

SCHOOL

(TRAINING CENTER)

COURSE OFFERING ON 4-

YEAR LADDERIZED ICT

COURSE

PC OPERATIONS NC II

COMPUTER HARDWARE

SERVICING NC II

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This feasibility study employed qualitative and quantitative methods. The

qualitative method dwelt on the unstructured interaction of the researcher to the

different offices (i.e. Tablon-LGU, DepEd, TESDA) which establishes the concept and

legal frameworks.

The quantitative part was used to gather and analyze necessary data such as

enrollment possibility and the financial viability of the project.

Tablon is located 10.8 km east of Cagayan de Oro City. It is the largest barangay

of the city consisting of 15 puroks. The barangay has a land area of 43,810, 130 sq.m.

which represents 8% of the total land area of Cagayan de Oro City.

As of 2003 SRA-MBN census, there are 3,502 households in the barangay.

Tablon has 11 learning institutions for early child development, 9 of which are

public and 2 are private. It also has 3 public schools which offer complete elementary

education, namely: Tablon ES, Linangohan ES and Palalan ES, and 1 high school, Tablon

NHS.

Tablon NHS will serve as the training center of the 4-year ladderized ICT course.

First step taken by the researcher was interviewing different officials to ask for

the possibility of the project with keen consideration to its legalities.

With a go-signal from these officials, the next move was conducting a survey

within the barangay premises. The survey form consists of mere five items only. The

survey forms were distributed to the academic institutions, LGU-Tablon, NGOs, and

other local stakeholders.

R E S E A R C H D E S I G N

L O C A L E O F T H E P R O J E C T

D A T A G A T H E R I N G P R O C E D U R E

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With the retrieval of the survey forms, financial analyses were initiated. Based

on the responses, a possible number of enrollees were calculated. Knowing the

enrolment in turns determines the expected cost and expected income of the project.

Moreover in the financial analysis, the following must be found out:

1. Unit cost per trainee

2. Variable cost per trainee

3. Breakeven quantity and revenue

4. Net present value as an investment evaluation

5. Payback period

On the Interaction with Officials

1. The Barangay Captain in the person of Honorable Romeo R. Bacarro is supportive

to the noble aims of the project.

2. LGU-Tablon is willing to cover initial costs when the findings of this feasibility

study is good and with the understanding that the project in the long run will be

self-sustaining.

3. The principal of Tablon NHS is likewise eager to cooperate with the project.

4. Tablon NHS has an ICT Lab and two ICT coordinators, Mr. Ray Butch D. Mahinay

and Mrs. Christine D. Babida. With the recommendation of the school principal,

these coordinators will be the trainers for this project’s 4-year ladderized ICT

course.

5. The curriculum to use will be drafted by the ICT coordinators and will be

approved by the LGU-Tablon and TESDA.

6. Coordination to TESDA will be done by the ICT coordinators for the NC issuance

matters.

K E Y A S S U M P T I O N S A N D F I N D I N G S

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On the Survey

7. More than 100 survey forms were distributed and the percentage of retrieval is

75%.

8. The results of the survey are summed up on Table 1.

Table 1. Summary of Survey Results

Item Yes No

f % f %

Do you have plans of taking up

computer course?

57 76% 18 24%

Would you enroll to a computer

course if it is partly sponsored by the

Barangay Tablon Council?

62 83% 13 17%

Would you enroll if the training center

will be at Tablon NHS-ICT laboratory?

52 69% 23 31%

What are your chances to enroll on

the course if it will be offered on SY

2011-2012?

- 100% that I will enroll

- 75% that I will enroll

- 50% that I will enroll

- 25% that I will enroll

31 15 10 6

50% 24% 16% 10%

Would you recommend this to your

neighborhood as an opportunity of

learning?

72 96% 3 4%

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Computer Facilities

Tablon NHS has 11 functional computers acquired through the project of

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) which is the Personal Computers for Public

Schools - Phase 3. Some of the specifications of the computers include: operating

system is Windows XP, has CD-ROM component and complete accessories like

keyboard, mouse and speakers.

The computers are four years old already from the time it was properly received.

Computer maintenance is limited due to the school’s budgetary constraints so the ICT

coordinators shared that prior to the implementation of the project, the computers’

defective parts must be fixed.

Internet Connection

Through DepEd Order No. 50, the DepEd Internet Connectivity Project (DICP)

made almost all public secondary schools wired to the internet. Tablon NHS has Globe

Telecom as its internet service provider (ISP). There are area in the campus that are wi-fi

spots such as the ICT Lab, TLE Lab, Faculty Office and Principal’s Office.

ICT Trainers’ Profile

The following are the trainers of the 4-year ladderized ICT course:

1. Ray Butch D. Mahinay, MASE

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Planning and Management (PhD EPM) –

currently pursuing, Mindanao University of Science and Technology

Master of Arts in Science Education (MASE), Bukidnon State University-Main

Campus

With ICT training in the national, regional and divisional levels

School Rank: Teacher III

T E C H N I C A L O U T L I N E

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2. Christine D. Babida

Master of Technician Teacher Education (MTTE) – currently pursuing, Mindanao

University of Science and Technology

With ICT training in the national, regional and divisional levels

School Rank: Teacher I

3. Sidney D. Badiang, CoE

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Mindanao University of Science

and Technology

Affiliated with UCBP as head computer engineer

Has wide exposure in computer programming and computer hardware

maintenance

Organization

The organization of the project is headed by the LGU-Tablon which will have

direct connection with Tablon NHS as its project implementer. These two offices will

coordinate with DepEd, CHED and TESDA. Figure 2 shows the organization chart of the

project.

Figure 2. The organizational chart showing the hierarchy of responsibilities and flow of

coordination and affairs.

LGU-Tablon

Tablon NHS

ICT Coordinators / Trainers

OSYAs / Trainees

CHED

DepEd TESDA

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Curriculum

The curriculum to be used is patterned after the DepEd’s TLE-Career Pathways

structure. For every year, there are corresponding skills to be developed. Within four

years, there will be a total of 12 skills acquired that includes entrepreneurship

development. After years 1 and 3, the trainee is qualified to take two exams for him to

get two national certificates (level II) respectively. In Figure 3, the curriculum is

presented with the methodical arrangement of the skills and their equivalent career

being ladderized in nature.

Figure 3. The structure of the curriculum with the skills and their equivalent career that

a trainee can opt to do after series of ICT courses is shown systematically. This is to

show the benefit of ladderized training.

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Class Schedule

Since the project is collaborated with Tablon NHS which has its own class

program, the ICT training schedule will fall on schedules where there are no classes for

the high school students. There can only be three options: (1) every 5-6 PM of Monday

to Friday; (2) 7 AM-12 NN of Saturdays; and (3) 1-6 PM of Saturdays.

Course Fees

Since this is a barangay project, there is subsidy in the fees so the trainees are

not so burdened financially. Also, the subsidy in the course fees can ensure

sustainability to the trainee’s end. For every skill, the rate per student will be Php

1000.00. Twenty-five percent (or Php 250.00) will be subsidized by the LGU-Tablon.

Table 2. Course fees in the 4 year levels per trainee.

Year Level Skill Rate per Skill Subsidy from

the LGU-Tablon

Rate to be paid by the trainees

First Year

●PC Operations Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750 ●Word Processing Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750 ●Spreadsheet Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750 ●Presentation Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

Total, Year 1 Php 4000 Php 1000 Php 3000

Second Year

●Photo Editing Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750 ●Desktop Publishing

Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

●Internet and Email

Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

Total, Year 2 Php 3000 Php 750 Php 2250

Third Year

●Basic Webpage Design

Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

●Basic Programming

Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

●Basic Data Management

Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

●Computer Assembly, Maintenance and

Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

F I N A N C I A L A N A L Y S I S

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Troubleshooting

Total, Year 3 Php 4000 Php 1000 Php 3000

Fourth Year ●Entrepreneurship Development

Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750

Total, Year 4 Php 1000 Php 250 Php 750 Grand Total Php 12000 Php 3000 Php 9000

Number of Enrollees

Uniform probability distribution was used to assign corresponding weight in

every question. There will be 35 OSYAs who are certain to sign up on June 2011.

Contribution Income Statement

The following is the contribution income statement which will show that costs

are classified according to behavior as variable or fixed, and the contribution margin

that goes toward covering fixed costs and providing a profit is emphasized.

Revenues per skill (Php 1,000 x 35 trainees)

Php 35,000 Less variable costs

Trainers’ Honoraria (Php 5000 x 2) Php 10,000

Instructional Materials (Php 250 x 35) Php 8,750

Incidental Expenses Php 2,500 (Php 21,250)

Contribution Margin Php 13,750 Less Fixed Costs

Project’s Counterpart to the School Bills (Electricity + Internet Bills) Php 5,000

Tablon NHS Honoraria Php 3,000 (Php 8,000)

Total Costs Php 29,250

Profit Php 5,750

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Measures Using Contribution Margin

The following will present the unit and variable costs per trainee and the

relevance of the contribution margin, to wit:

Table 3. Total and Per Unit Revenues, Contribution Margin and Costs

Total Per Unit Ratio to Sales

Revenues Php 35,000 Php 1000 1

Variable Costs (Php 21,250) (Php 607.14) (0.61)

Contribution Margin Php 13,750 Php 392.86 0.39

Fixed Costs (Php 8,000)

Overhead (VC+FC) Costs (Php 29,250) Php 835.71

Profit (R-OC) Php 5,750

The contribution margin per unit can be helpful to determine if there will be additional

enrollee. If, for example, there will be an additional 15 enrollees, the increase in profit is

readily determined by multiplying the enrolment increase by the contribution margin

per unit as follows:

15 (additional enrollees) x Php 392.86 = Php 5,892.90 (profit increase)

Break-even Analysis

The break-even point (BEP) occurs at the unit sales volume when total revenues

equal total costs. Beyond this point, increasing levels of profits are achieved. The

formula is as follows:

Therefore, the break-even unit sales volume for this project will be 20 trainees. With a Php

392.86 unit contribution margin and fixed costs of Php 8,000, the project’s break-even point is

20 trainees per skill course. Stated another way, at a Php 392.86 per-unit contribution margin,

20 trainees are required to cover Php 8,000 of fixed costs.

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Net Present Value

The net present value (NPV) measures the actualized net revenue and indicates

the attractiveness of the project. It is finding the market value of assets or benefits by

taking the present value of future cash flows. The higher the NPV, the more viable is the

plan. For this project, the NPV is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. The Net Present Value for the First 4 Years of Operation

Year Operating Cost Income Net Cash Flow Annual PV

1 29,250 35,000 5,750 5,476.19

2 58,500 70,000 11,500 10,430.84

3 87,750 105,000 17,250 14,901.20

4 117,500 140,000 22,500 18,510.81

∑ = 57,000 NPV = 19,319.03

Assuming that the initial cost is set at Php 30,000 and the interest rate is 5%, the NPV

can be computed. Using the standard NPV formula, the NPV of this project in its four

years of operation is Php 19,319.03. Therefore, it can be said that the project of offering

a 4-year ladderized ICT course is feasible.

Payback Period

The payback period (PBP) is a measure of time required for an initial investment

to be recovered, neglecting the time value of money. Using the standard PBP formula,

the PBP of this project is 5.51 or 5 years and 5 months.

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Table 5 below shows the program of activities that the researcher had set

towards the realization of this project.

Table 5. Program of Activities and Implementation

Activities Months to Implement

J F M A M J J A S O N D

Feasibility Study (Planning stage)

Feasibility Study (Implementation stage)

Feasibility Study (Communicate results)

Agreement of the Project’s Implementation

Training and Preparation

Public Information Drive

Project Implementation

Monitoring and Evaluation

P R O G R A M O F A C T I V I T I E S

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In this feasibility study, it has covered qualitative and quantitative research methods to

meet the set objectives.

For the first objective, the technical part of offering a 4-year ladderized ICT course is

manageable. The training site which is the Tablon NHS is ready and conducive. The ICT

trainers are agreeable to the set-up. All the offices concerned are affirmative and

supportive.

For the second objective, financial analysis presents that the project is feasible

and it only takes 5 years for the initial investment to be recovered.

It is important to note though that the project of offering a 4-year ladderized ICT

course is not a business nor an income-generating project of the barangay. The

proceeds of the revenues that will be collected has to be decided by the offices

concerned.

Having that said, it is recommended that if things can be ironed out, a

memorandum of agreement (MOA) can be met between the LGU-Tablon and Tablon

NHS.

C O N C L U S I O N A N D R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S

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