MANILA, Philippines -- 15 February 2001 -- Worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, Cisco Systems today announced the newest addition to the Cisco Networking Academy family in the Philippines. Southeastern College will join over 6,000 educational institutions around the world in offering the Networking Academy curriculum to its students.
Conrad Maqalac, School Director of Southeastern College, said that they planned to consolidate the Networking Academy program into the school's High School, Vocational/Technical and College programs by June of 2001.
"For the high school track, we plan to implement the program to each of the 3rd and 4th years' Honors Class comprising of 40 students per class. That would make around 80 students all in all for this program. For the Vocational Course, we have successfully applied for a 2-year Computer Network Technician Course from TESDA. The four-semester Networking Academy curriculum will be applied as the major subjects for this two-year course," said Maqalac.
"And finally, for the College track, either the complete course or partial courses will be implemented in Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Computer Applications," he added.
Students who complete the 280-hour, four-semester Networking Academy course can sit for the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) examination, the entry-level to Cisco Systems' professional certification system. The highest-level is the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE), the industry's leading certification. CCIE engineers build some of the largest, global-spanning networks.
Southeastern College is the latest addition to Cisco Systems' educational initiative since the program's introduction in the Philippines in 1998. Its training and supervision is supported by De La Salle University - Professional Schools Incorporated (DLSU-PSI), one of the first Regional Academies to be set up in the Philippines. To date, the program is implemented in 49 local academies and 7 regional academies in the country.
Noel Rivera, country manager of Cisco Systems Philippines expressed the company's complete support for local schools that advocate and implement the program into their own curriculum.
"Cisco is very pleased with how far the Networking Academy initiative has gone since its introduction here. The commitment displayed by these schools to raise the level of education has motivated us to push this initiative to more remote areas. The two fundamental equalizers in life are education and the Internet and we feel that everybody should have the same access to the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in the Internet Economy," said Rivera.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco news and information are available at www.cisco.com.
# # #
Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
