Bill pushing free Wi-Fi in all schools filed

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian (File photo from the Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday said he had filed a bill that would set up free public Wi-Fi in all public schools nationwide.

Gatchalian said Senate Bill No. 383 seeks to “accelerate the digital transformation of the basic education sector,” in compliance with Republic Act No. 10929, or the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act.

“We will be pushing for the digital transformation of the education sector to make sure that each school in the country has access to the internet. I believe that after the pandemic, blended learning will become part of the new normal, so we need to expand the use of technology to deliver quality education,” he said.

Under Gatchalian’s proposal, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will accelerate the installation, deployment and activation of free public

Wi-Fi in all levels of public schools. Data from DICT showed that only 945 public schools have free public Wi-Fi, or a mere 2 percent of all public schools in the country.

—MELVIN GASCON

RELATED STORIES

DICT to roll out free Wi-Fi, VSAT facilities in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi Tawi

Remote Albay areas also getting free Wi-Fi from gov’t, UNDP

DICT rolls out free Wi-Fi in Zambales schools, hospitals