Manila buys ₱994 M worth of digital learning aids for city’s public schools
The local government of Manila is buying ₱994 million worth of laptops and tablets to equip its public schools in conducting online classes amid the challenges posed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to the children’s education.
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso came up with the decision on Friday night after convening the Local School Board as they prepare for the upcoming school year.
“Ayokong pumasok yung (mga) bata na walang kapasidad ang eskwelahan na magturo [I don’t want our children go to school without the latter having the capacity to conduct classes]. We are the capital of the nation,” Moreno told the members of the board, as he urged them to focus their efforts on the plan.
Moreno said that the city will lend 110,000 tablets to its Kinder to Grade 12 public school students to help them cope with the online learning system, which has been proposed as the country still deals with the pandemic, and 11,000 laptops for the teachers.
The local chief executive also said that each tablet will come with a monthly allocation of 12 GB of data and 2 GB for YouTube. The laptops, meanwhile, will have pocket Wi-Fi.
“Bibili tayo ng 110,000 na tablet para sa mga Batang Maynila. Walang tosgas na ang mga magulang [We will buy 110,000 tablets for the children of Manila. Their parents no longer have to spend money on it],” Moreno said, “I want to focus on the real problem na kailangan nila ng [that they need] bandwidth.”
The gadgets will be distributed before the opening of school year 2020-2021, according to Moreno.
The Manila Public School Teachers Association (MPSTA) said that the city's decision gives both teachers and students a big boost to their initial journey into online or digital learning.
“Ito ay isang malaking pag-asa na ibinibigay ng alkalde na maipagpapatuloy ang pag-aaral ng mga Batang Maynila sa gitna ng pandemic crisis na nararansan ng marami sa atin [This is a big hope given by our mayor so the children of Manila would be able to continue their education amid the crisis we face],” said Louie Zabala, board member of MPSTA.
“Hindi lahat ng lungsod ay mayroong ganitong sense of accountability sa education ng kanyang kabataan [Not all cities have this kind of sense of accountability to the education of their children],” he added.