THE Department of Education (DepEd) is spending P700 million to provide internet service to 7,000 public schools nationwide in anticipation of the blended learning system that would be implemented this school year, President Duterte said in his Bayanaihan Act report to Congress.
The DepEd, meanwhile, extended enrolment in public schools up to July 15, 2020.
Enrolment was supposed to end yesterday, June 30.
In his 14th report to Congress, Duterte said DepEd has prepared a Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP) that aims to ensure that appropriate and good quality learning resources are available and that necessary platforms or technology like printed, digital, television and radio, are available at a timely and efficient manner.
Duterte said the plan include DepeEd’s “procuring internet connection for 7,000 schools to increase the total number of public schools with internet access.” He added that P700 million has been allocated for the 10-month program. One school year usually runs for 10 months.
The President said public school teachers are also being allowed to bring home gadgets being distributed to schools as “the availability of devices is a limiting factor to technology-based approaches to learning.”
Duterte said the DepEd’s BE-LCP include multiple learning delivery modes like distance learning, the use of self learning modules that are either printed or available online, the use of television and radio or a combination of all under a blended learning scheme.
He said the DepEd has teamed up with the Department of Information and Communications (DICT) to develop and conduct a nationwide Digital Teachers Training Program in line with efforts “to build digital capabilities for both teachers and students as a response to the new normal.”
The coming school year is set to start on August 24, 2020 to April 303, 2021. Private schools, however, can set their own schedules.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said based on DepEd data 15,223,315 have enrolled in public schools while 672,403 have enrolled in private schools. — With Noel Talacay