THE Department of Education is considering partnering with Internet providers to digitize the learning resources for learners.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte yesterday unveiled a digital portal called the “DepEd Digital Education 2028” or DepEd Digi-Ed where learners can access education materials.
“The backbone of technology lies in connectivity. We are aggressively taking steps to provide School-Wide Wi-Fi across the country. We have been negotiating with the likes of Starlink, PLDT, Converge, Globe and other internet service providers to make this a reality,” Duterte told members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the group’s 49th Philippine Business Conference and Expo at the Manila Hotel.
Duterte said 25 schools have initially been chosen for Starlink’s proof of concept, while 2, 000 other schools are currently being given internet connectivity.
“We are also looking to procure digital textbooks, as well as supplementary learning materials that will be made available to learners and teachers, be it online or offline. We have been holding regular discussions with publishers, both big and small, to procure digital resources as early as 2024,” she said.
She also revealed the department is acquiring Digi-Ed Learning Carts, a computer laboratory on wheels composed of 46 laptops, a smart television, and more.
“We are on track to provide our schools with E-learning carts in the coming months,” Duterte said, adding that in embracing technology, the DepEd envisions an environment of “borderless classrooms and learning without disruption.”
At the same time, she said that the DepEd is also working to build more classrooms and other basic education facilities to address classroom shortage.
She said the construction of 2,201 new classrooms has recently been completed while the department also inaugurated 15 Last Mile schools, with 45 more similar schools scheduled to be turned over within the year.
The Last Mile Schools Program is aimed to address the gaps in resources and facilities of schools located in geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas.
Earlier, the DepEd said classroom shortage in public schools hit 159,000 this school year, up from the previous year’s 91,000.
But it said the 159,000 is an “accumulated’ shortage over the years and includes 440 classrooms totally damaged by typhoons and other natural calamities this year.
During the Senate hearing on the DepEd budget for 2024, DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Cesar Bringas said the department needs at least P397 billion to address the current classroom backlogs. Each classroom costs around P2 million.
In the 2023 national budget, Bringas said the DepEd was only given P10 billion, enough for the construction of more than 7,000 classrooms.