(Philippine Daily Inquirer Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) BAGUIO CITYBUSINESS-men and university officials agreed on Friday to make English speaking mandatory in all campuses in the Cordillera to attract call center investors to the region.

This option was taken during a strategy planning session supervised by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), which is implementing President Macapagal-Arroyos plans to create a cyber corridor in the country.

In her State of the Nation Address, Ms Arroyo said the cyber corridor runs the length of all the super regions, from Baguio to Cebu to Davao, where information and communications technology (ICT) industry players have relocated, or are being eyed as centers for ICT investments by the government.

English proficiency

Margarita Jasmin, Cordillera director of the Department of Education, said restoring English-speaking campuses is the fastest way to guarantee English proficiency from university students who form the labor pool of call centers and other ICT firms.

Citing a study made in 1996 by the late former education secretary Bro. Andrew Gonzales, Jasmin said frequent use of any language helps people perfect their grammar and accent.

However, the study suggested improving language courses of preschool and grade school pupils would be the ideal solution, she said.

Educational system

Many universities saw no problem with imposing an English-only policy, Jasmin said, because the regions educational system used to benefit from the Thomasites, the missionaries who introduced American-styled classroom education to the mountain communities in the early 1900s.

The campuses could automatically make this policy without waiting for legislation, but only if they obtained the support of their student councils, Jasmin said.

The Cordillera was described as the cyber corridors summit during the strategy meeting because the Baguio City Economic Zone hosts at least three ICT firms.