State auditors found that almost P93 million worth of laptops and tablets remain undistributed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
The devices, all brand new and unused, remained with the DICT for 4 to 17 months. The Commission of Audit (COA), who oversaw DICT’s 2021 audit, warns that the laptops and tablets might soon become obsolete if not distributed to teachers and students soon.
The devices were bought by the DICT for the Cybersafe Learning for Education (CLE) program in 2020 and 2021. A total of 10,250 laptops and 41,500 tablets were purchased for the project. Of the lot, 866 laptops and 12,482 tablets, which total P92.968 million, remained with the department.
According to the COA, DICT management failed to identify beneficiaries for the CLE Project prior to the acquisition of laptops and tablets, resulting in the low rate of distribution.
The CLE’s project manager responded, saying the devices were not released because either they do not have a contact person for it or that a beneficiary is yet to be evaluated for eligibility.
Also Read: HUAWEI MateBook 16s, MateBook D 16 now on sale in PH, announces Back-to-School promo
The DICT is yet to explain why they bought so much devices if they have not yet identified the recipients.
