Despite the approval of the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, only 945 public basic education schools or about two percent of public schools nationwide have free public Wi-Fi as of January 29, 2022. Meanwhile, there are at least only 10 reputable higher education institutions offering distance education despite the passage of the Open Distance Learning Act.
While NCR has the highest number of households with Internet access (33.2%), the Pulse Asia survey revealed that it is the region that suffers most from intermittent Internet connection (55%) and expensive Internet fees (47%) compared to the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The agency said learners did not drop out from school, but merely shifted from one mode of learning to another or migrated from one geographical location to another.
Cable TV and Internet provider Sky Cable said it has partnered with the government to broadcast the Department of Education’s distance education program and provide Internet access to 32 schools in key cities nationwide.
The Department of Education (DepEd) said it is is eyeing to hire Learning Support Aides (LSAs) to assist teachers and parents in the delivery of basic education services in the distance learning set-up.
The Knowledge Hub or KHub contains libraries of teaching guides for Pisay teachers and serves as a one-stop-shop for students for all their academic needs.
The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Master of Public Management Program and the Association of Schools of Public Administration in the Philippines (ASPAP) have teamed up for a webinar series this June 2020.
During a congressional hearing, a DepEd official said the government already has a plan to utilize the facilities of IBC-13 for a middle- to long-term Television Learning Program.
