SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian reiterated his call for the digital transformation of the basic education sector which he proposed in the Digital Transformation of Basic Education Act or Senate Bill 383.

The measure mandates the Department of Information and Communications Technology to accelerate the installation, deployment and activation of free public Wi-Fi in all public basic education institutions.

The senator said that the bill aligns with the mandate of Republic Act 10929 or the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act.

“Matapos ang karanasan natin noong kasagsagan ng pandemya, nakita nating hindi na natin maaaring ipagpaliban pa ang modernisasyon at digitalization sa sektor ng edukasyon upang walang mag-aaral ang mapag-iiwanan,” the senator said.

During last year’s deliberations on the 2023 national budget, Gatchalian said that only 1.8% or 860 of the country’s 47,421 public schools have free public Wi-Fi as of September 2, 2022.

He lamented that the digital divide hit learners from low-income households the hardest.

“Patuloy nating isusulong ang mga panukalang batas upang palawakin ang paggamit ng teknolohiya sa ating mga paaralan upang matiyak ang patuloy na edukasyon sa lahat sa gitna ng mga krisis,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education said.

A 2021 World Bank survey on low-income households revealed that only 40% have access to the internet.

The same survey also revealed that 95.5% of these households used paper-based learning modules and materials.

To escalate the building of the national infrastructure for ICT, the bill mandates the National Telecommunications Commission to identify locations for the construction of telecommunications tower sites, which will prioritize unconnected, unserved, or underserved areas.

The Department of Education shall also mandate all schools to enhance and strengthen their ICT capacity to implement distance learning.

To improve traditional teaching and learning processes and boost the basic education sector towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Department of Science and Technology will assist the DepEd and the DICT on the use of science, technology and innovation.

Gatchalian also filed several measures to accelerate digitalization in the basic education sector such as the Philippine Online Library Act or Senate Bill 477, the Public School Database Act or Senate Bill 478, and the One Learner, One Laptop Act or Senate Bill 474.