SENATOR Francis Tolentino filed a measure that seeks to increase the functions of the Bureau of Learning Delivery under the Department of Education to include distance education and online learning.

In his Senate Bill 407 or the proposed Enhanced Basic Online Learning and Distance Education Act of 2022, Tolentino said that the spread of Covid19 worldwide has greatly restricted mobility and prevented the full utilization of public services as well as access to different social institutions.

The bill aims to address current and future developments that will require the recalibration of the in-person school system.

“Given the present shortfalls of distance education in the Philippines and the lack of guidance and trainings for educators with respect to the conduct of remote learning, it is important for the DepEd to mainstream distance education initiatives through the development of a national education policy framework for online or broadcast learning delivery,” Tolentino stressed.

He said the Covid19 pandemic impelled countries to fasttrack the integration of remote learning in the curricula.

“In the Philippines, some schools made the shift to online platforms but many found no success in efficiently reaching out to all their students for lack of internet access and electroning tools,” Tolentino said in his explanatory note.