SENATOR Manuel ‘Lito’ Lapid is pushing for a measure providing for the scanning and conversion of public school textbooks into e-books and other digital formats.

Senate Bill 1288 seeks to amend Republic Act 8047 or the Book Publishing Industry Development Act.

“In the public school system, a yearly routine at the opening of classes is the distribution of textbooks to all elementary and secondary school students,” Lapid said in his explanatory note.

“It is likewise commonplace that such books are limited in number and, as a result, our students are forced to share or borrow from one another,” he added.

He further stressed even in today’s use of self-learning modules, sharing of materials among groups of students is still the trend owing to the shortage of printed modules.

In his bill, Lapid urged the government to resort to available techonologies and innovations in addressing the problems in printing, publishing, and distribution of learning modules and textbooks.

He noted one technology that can be used is the digitalization of textbooks into electronic books or e-books and other formats.

“Unti-unti na pong nag-transition ang ating mga mag-aaral sa digital learning. Marami po ang nakatanggap na ng cellphone at tablet mula sa iba’t ibang sponsor o sangay ng gobyerno. Maaari po nating gamitin ang mga gadget na ito at laman ng mga textbook na madaling ma-aaccess ng atin pong mga estudyante saan man sila naroon,” Lapid added.