San Juan students to receive free tablets

MANILA, Philippines — Students of public schools in San Juan City will no longer have to worry about online classes as they will receive more than 11,000 tablets and 1,500 laptops from the national government.

Mayor Francis Zamora said the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will donate the portable computers as part of its free Wi-Fi for all program in the city.

San Juan was chosen last year as the DICT’s pilot city for its free Wi-Fi project.

“They are providing us free tablets for all public school students and free Wi-Fi for every barangay,” Zamora said during a news briefing.

The laptops were earmarked for students of the Pinaglabanan Elementary School, which is the pilot site of the DICT’s program.

Under the local government’s agreement with the DICT, public places in the city’s 21 barangays will be the pilot sites for internet access. These are barangay halls, health centers, public schools, police stations and public parks.