THE CITY government of Valenzuela will distribute free SIM cards with 34 gigabytes of data to at least 8,000 students.

Following a memorandum of agreement with PLDT, Mayor Rex Gatchalian said that 8,000 students from the Valenzuela City Schools of Mathematics and Science, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, and Valenzuela City Polytechnic College will receive free SIM cards with monthly 34 gigabytes of internet data allowance.

The students will get free data subscription for the entire academic year.

The mayor said that the SIM cards will have 4 GB of open access data and 1 GB for study applications per day.

“Running the city is a very serious matter. It becomes more serious during the pandemic. So the communication must be very fast, very convenient and very reliable. This program is part of the overall plan of the city to keep the students educated,” Gatchalian said.

He said that the local government will also give students free access to Canvas Learning Management System, an online learning platform.

“We are excited because we will be able to maximize our Canvas LMS because we now have reliable internet connectivity. Our subscription to our LMS will be of no use if the students have no means to access the system,” he said.

“We partnered with Canvas so all the necessary ingredients for the success of our students’ continued education, is now available. Maximize the investment that the city is giving you,” the mayor added.