SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian renewed his call on the government to accelerate the installation of free public Wi-Fi in public schools nationwide.

Gatchalian made this proposal in Senate Bill No. 383 or the Digital Transformation in Basic Education Act.

Earlier, the senator noted that five years have passed since the enactment of the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act or Republic Act 10929 but data from the Public Wi-Fi Dashboard revealed that only 860 or 1.8 percent of the country’s 47,421 public schools have access to free Wi-Fi as of September 2, 2022.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education said that the Covid19 pandemic highlighted the digital divide in the country and affected mostly learners in poorer households.

Based on a 2021 survey by the World Bank on low-income households, only 40 percent have access to the internet.

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

“Kung babalikan natin ang mga aral na natutunan natin nitong pandemya, makikita nating bahagi na ang teknolohiya sa pagpapatuloy ng edukasyon, lalo na sa gitna ng mga krisis. Bahagi ng ating pagpapatatag sa sektor ng edukasyon ang pagtiyak na bawat paaralan ay magkakaroon ng libreng internet para sa paghahatid ng dekalidad na edukasyon,” Gatchalian said.

The proposed Digital Transformation in Basic Education Act seeks to escalate the building of the national infrastructure for Information and Communications Technology.

The measure will mandate the National Telecommunications Commission to identify locations for the construction of telecommunications tower sites.

Areas which remain unconnected, unserved, or underserved will be prioritized.