The local government of Manila is planning to purchase P994 million worth of laptops and tablets as preparation for its public schools to prepare them in shifting to blended learning due to challenges posed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Ayokong pumasok yung (mga) bata na walang kapasidad ang eskwelahan na magturo [I don’t want our children go to school without the latter having the capacity to conduct classes]. We are the capital of the nation,” Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso told the Local School Board when he came up with this decision.
Moreno said that the city will lend 110,000 tablets to its Kinder to Grade 12 public school students and 11,000 laptops for the teachers.
In addition, the tablets will come with 12 GB of data allocation, including 2 GB for Youtube. The laptops, meanwhile, will have pocket WI-FI. These will be distributed before the opening of school year 2020-2021, according to Moreno.
The Manila Public School Teachers Association (MPSTA) said that the city’s decision gives both teachers and students a big boost to their initial journey into online or digital learning.
