TO PREPARE the youth for the expected leaps in technology, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda filed a measure establishing the schools of the future.

In pushing for House Bill 0311 or the proposed Public Schools of the Future in Technology or PSOFT Act, Salceda said it is projected that by 2025, half of today’s work activities could be digitally enabled.

“Even now, digital technology has become an indispensable tool in almost all facets of human activity,” he said in his explanatory note.

The lawmaker said that with the reach of technology getting more pervasive, it is predicted that 65 percent of current work skills will become obsolete in two years due to technological innovations and this trend will only intensify in the years ahead.

“We will need the public schools of the future in technology where a student can finish his/her studies with the use of school-based digital facilities,” Salceda stressed.

Under the bill, students will be provided with a laptop, access to the internet, and will receive instruction in a digital classroom complete with digital tools and devices that will allow them to be at par with their peers in other parts of the world.

“This imaginary school of the future operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day where a student can access his classroom in the comfort of his home and anytime of the day with the use of computer of mobile device,” Salceda explained.

The measure also mandates the training and retraining of teachers to equip them with the competencies that will enable them to perform their role under the PSOFT program.