QC, Manila to provide students with tablets

MANILA, Philippines — With the expected shift to distance learning next school year, the local governments of Quezon City and Manila have approved proposals to provide public school students with tablets to support their education. 

The Quezon City school board chaired by Mayor Joy Belmonte has approved a supplemental budget of P2.9 billion to fund relevant and appropriate learning materials for more than 430,000 expected enrollees in public schools in the city.

It includes an allocation to provide tablets for over 175,000 junior and senior high school students, as well as modules, learning packets containing flash drives and other additional printed materials for those in kinder to grade school levels.

“We are adjusting our budget to ensure that our children will continue learning despite the sudden shift from traditional to alternative learning modalities,” said Belmonte.

She said a portion of the supplemental budget would also fund the internet allowance for public school teachers to address their concerns regarding connectivity under the planned blended system of learning.

According to city education affairs head Aly Medalla, the local government is also planning to use some of its special education fund to augment the gadgets that the Department of Education (DepEd) would provide to teachers.

“The city plans to assign gadgets to all public schools and other educational facilities that teachers can share through a shifting schedule,” she said.

“We also intend to improve or increase internet connectivity in schools so more teachers have access to the Internet,” she added.

The city government earlier expressed support to the DepEd’s plan to shift from the traditional face-to-face classes to blended learning due to the threat of the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Under blended learning, different alternative modes of education would be adopted, such as using printed modules or through content delivered through the internet, television or radio.

Medalla earlier said that they are also engaging with major telecommunication companies to provide students with affordable and more accessible internet service if the need arises.

While face-to-face classes are suspended, the Quezon City government said it would start preparing school facilities and implement measures that shall facilitate the safe return of the students and personnel to the schools when the conditions are met.

School supplies and care packages – which include goggles, facemasks, alcohol and other necessary items that may protect students – would also be provided.

Support for Manila students

In Manila, the city government said will give 110,000 tablets and 11,000 laptops to students and teachers in preparation for the distant learning scheme when classes start August.

During his Facebook Live address Friday night, Manila mayor Isko Moreno said the city government allocated P994 million to procure the tablets for 110,000 households.

City hall estimates that the 275,000 public school students are covered in the 110,000 households, Moreno said.

Each tablet will be accompanied with a SIM card equipped with 10GB monthly bandwidth, as well as a 2GB data for YouTube.

“I don’t want our children to learn from school without the capacity to do so,” Moreno said.

The city hall will also procure 11,000 laptops with pocket WiFi devices for public school teachers to hold their online classes, the mayor added.