VICE President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte yesterday said she wants to replicate the free internet connectivity program of the city government of San Juan for its public schools, adding it will help narrow the “digital divide” and learning gap among learners.
Duterte said she is in awe at what the city government of San Juan headed by Mayor Francis Zamora has done — providing fiber optic internet connection and wi-fi to the city’s 13 public schools. Each classroom was also provided a 55-inch television set.
Duterte and Zamora led the launch of the free fiber optic internet connection at the Pinaglabanan Elementary School.
Zamora said all public school students in the city have also received free tablets as part of the city government’s partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology while the households of 7,000 public school students have been provided free fiber optic internet connection, allowing students to study at home.
Duterte said she intends to provide information technology tools to all public schools as parts of DepEd’s efforts to upgrade the quality of education.
“As I have said, that is also the dream of the Department of Education for all schools in the country,” Duterte said.
Duterte, however, added that dream is far from becoming a reality as some public schools, especially those located in far-flung areas of the country, do not have the infrastructure or facility for a stable internet connection.
She said the DepEd will opt for a mixed form of learning, combining in-person with the use of modern ICT tools for the meantime.
“Right now, our direction is mixed since there are schools that do not have internet connection in their place,” she said.
She said what she saw in San Juan made her “envious” as the city has addressed the needs of its learners, especially those enrolled in public schools.
“As a former mayor of Davao City, I am envious of the fact that the local government of San Juan was able to provide the needs or priorities of their learners,” Duterte said.
Before she stepped down from her post, former Education Secretary Leonor Briones called on Duterte to prioritize the provision of ICT tools and internet connectivity of public schools.
Briones particularly focused on the Last Mile Schools Program aimed at addressing the gaps in resources and facilities of schools located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas. — With Christian Oineza
