THE LOCAL government of Quezon City handed over some 176,000 Samsung tablets to public high school students to help them get ready for blended learning this school year.

City Mayor Joy Belmonte supervised the distribution, together with Department of Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua and DepEd-QC Superintendent Jenilyn Corpus.

The project costs around P1.2 billion coming from the  P2.9 billion supplemental budget of the city to adapt to the new normal in teaching and learning as face-to-face classes remain indefinitely suspended due to Covid19 pandemic.

“We are adjusting our budget to ensure that our children will continue learning despite the sudden shift from traditional to alternative learning modalities,” Mayor Belmonte said.

The tablets have built-in programs to help students learn.

The gadget will also enable students and teachers to exchange lessons and assignments.

“So while teachers are working home, learners are also at their respective houses. They can still meet through the data being provided for free by the Quezon City government,” Fredie Avendaño, DepEd-QC assistant superintendent, said.

The tablets also include a data sim card which will be loaded with 10GB of mobile data per month for online classes.

Meanwhile, printed modules, learning packets containing flash drives and hygiene kits will also be distributed by the city in the coming days.