SENATOR Grace Poe has prodded the Department of Education to boost its partnerships with telecommunication companies and the private sector to enable poor students to benefit from online learning.

“Poor students across the country should be given the opportunity as well to participate in online classes instead of merely being confined to printed modules. They must not be daunted or impeded by sheer lack of basic access,” Poe said, stressing that “no child should be left behind.”

During the Senate deliberations on the DepEd’s budget, Education Secretary Leonor Briones has confirmed that her department has forged a number of memorandums of agreement with telcos for effective online education.

Briones said agreements were signed with internet providers whose pursuits were ‘harmonious’ with DepEd programs.

“We subject them to the same standards and criteria for evaluation,” Briones told Poe. Marami sila (private providers), hindi concentrated to one or two or three, sa mga local governments.”

“The challenge for us is to reduce our dependence on printed materials and move in the direction of tapping online tools for education,” Briones said.

Poe earlier donated mobile gadgets to poor students through their schools to help them cope with the shift to online and blended learning.