Briones: Classes in Manila public schools can start with gadgets at hand

MANILA, Philippines — There is no reason for public schools in Manila to stop classes after the local government provided gadgets to students as well as teachers to augment distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Education chief Leonor Briones said on Wednesday.

“I am informed, hindi ito biro-birong investment galing SES (Special Education Fund), na ang Maynila naman ay nagkokolekta. Ito ay nag-post ng P1.2 billion so hindi biro ito, mag-distribute ng isang dosenang computer. Ito ay P1.2 billion worth of assistance to DepEd (Department of Education) and to our children beneficiaries,” Briones said during a speech aired through a video call at the turn over of gadgets ceremony at Aurora Quezon Elementary School Covered Court.

(I am informed that this is not just a simple investment from the SES, which Manila has collected. This posted P1.2 billion so this is not easy to distribute one dozen computers. This is P1.2 billion worth of assistance to DepEd and to our children beneficiaries.)

“Kaya napakaswerte ng mga teachers at mga learner dito sa Maynila dahil wala nang dahilan na sasabihin na hindi pwedeng pagtuloy ang pag-aaral ng bata… Patuloy pa rin ang education sa pamamamagitan ng paggamit ng technology,” Briones added.

(So our learners, teachers in Manila are lucky because they have no reason to say that education should not continue for the children… Education can still continue through technology.)

Briones cited that Manila will distribute over 160,000 tablets and 296,000 sim cards with 10-gigabyte bandwidth for students while 11,000 laptops will be given to teachers.

Last June, Manila vowed to provide gadgets for public school students to ease expenses for tuition and other learning fees as DepEd scheduled opening of classes for the school year 2020-2021 on Oct. 5 this year. [ac]