A House committee is seeking to establish a national digital repository that would give college students and faculty free access to textbooks, research papers, lecture videos, and other academic materials.
House Bill No. 9532, or the proposed Universal Access to Digital Academic Learning Resources Act, is now ready for plenary action, according to House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chair representative Jude Acidre.
The measure would create the National Academic Content Repository under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges, and private higher education institutions.
“Two measures under this agenda are now ready for plenary action. One seeks to give students wider access to digital textbooks, learning materials, academic research, and reliable campus internet through a National Academic Content Repository and free high-speed Wi-Fi in higher education institutions. The other establishes clearer standards for the creation and operation of local universities and colleges, helping protect both the quality of education and the future of their students,” Acidre said.
The repository would contain digital textbooks, syllabi, lecture videos, research papers, and other open educational resources. The bill requires the materials to undergo quality review and be accessible, inclusive, and culturally relevant.
Faculty members would also be encouraged to contribute locally developed academic materials, subject to proper attribution and recognition.
The bill directs the DICT and higher education institutions to provide enrolled students and faculty with free, secure, and campus-wide high-speed Wi-Fi. Rural and underserved campuses would be prioritized during the initial rollout.
CHED would be tasked with acquiring licenses for digital textbooks, providing grants for localized learning materials, negotiating affordable or open-access arrangements with publishers, and creating panels to review the content.
The proposed law also provides training and incentives for faculty members who produce digital educational resources.
“These gains reflect the direction we set at the beginning of this Congress: widen access, improve equity, strengthen quality, connect education with the needs of our economy, and use technology to bring learning within the reach of every Filipino,” Acidre said.
The proposal is among several higher education measures being considered by Congress. Acidre said these include amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which have been enrolled and are awaiting transmittal to Malacañang, and a bill institutionalizing the Presidential Merit Scholarship Program for high-performing senior high school graduates pursuing courses in critical workforce sectors.
