Loren files ‘One Tablet, One Student’ bill
ANTIQUE lone district Rep. Loren Legarda filed House Bill No. 10405 also known as the “One Tablet, One Student Act of 2021” that seeks to provide each public elementary and secondary student as well as students enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs) a tablet.
In a statement sent to The Manila Times, the former three-term senator said students who already have their own personal learning gadgets shall be given educational assistance in the form of an internet allowance to cover the cost of connectivity instead.
Legarda urged both Houses, which are now working on the proposed 2022 national budget, to consider allocating funds for the said program, believing it will greatly help public schools students adapt to the online mode of learning amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
She noted, for example, there are around 30,194 students from kindergarten to senior high school in Antique who do not have devices such as smartphones or tablets based on a report of the Department of Education (DepEd) Provincial Schools Division.
This, Legarda stated, hinders them from coping with the flexible learning system currently being implemented by DepEd.
“For Antique alone, if a basic and durable tablet costs approximately P4,000 we will be needing an additional P120 million in order to be able to provide for all these students. We have to make sure that our budget, especially amid this ongoing pandemic, is able to cater to our children’s educational needs,” she added.
According to the DepEd Central Office, if the government plans to provide information communication technology devices to aid the students in their education, a three- to six-year computerization program that will require P154 billion per year is the proposed solution to address the digital divide.
In a letter to House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and House Appropriations Chairman Eric Go Yap, Legarda proposed to augment the proposed budget of DepEd by P154 billion to fund the implementation of the act starting next year.
The Education department also said that this proposal, if approved by Congress, will prioritize students in Grades 4, 7, and 10 each year. Based on DepEd data, there are 27 million elementary and high school students enrolled in the current academic year.
On the other hand, there are approximately 1.6 million enrolled in SUCs and local universities and colleges, based on the data from the Commission on Higher Education, excluding the teachers themselves who are also in need of such devices.
“While the proposed allocation is staggering, making sure that our students each have access to resources that would help them cope with changes in our educational system is needed for us to ensure that despite the restrictions in the traditional modalities of classes, our students will still receive the kind of quality education that they deserve,” Legarda said.
She also noted that while the government is pushing for the gradual return of face-to-face classes, risks of contracting the virus and its variants remain a threat, thereby justifying the need to equip students and selected teachers with the gadget.
“There is no greater investment than education to help alleviate poverty and build a sustainable and progressive nation. We have to invest enough support for the education of our youth so that they can enjoy more opportunities to be eventually employed as professionals and productive-members of our society,” Legarda said.