Mandaluyong City Mayor Carmelita Abalos announced that the city government will provide free laptops and tablets to public school teachers and students in the city in support of the distance learning approach for this school year.

Abalos made the announcement during the virtual Monday morning program, attended by local officials and city government employees via video conferencing app Zoom.

In her report following the activity, the mayor said Mandaluyong is now 100 percent ready for the implementation of the new mode of learning amid the pandemic.

“Handang handa na ang ating lungsod sa pagbubukas ng klase next month (Our city is ready for the opening of classes next month),” Abalos said.

“Sa pakikipagtulungan ng ating Schools Division Office, 100 percent ready na ang Tiger City sa implementasyon ng mga makabagong pamamaraan bilang tugon sa new normal (With the help of our Schools Division Office, Tiger City is 100 percent ready to implement modern methods in response to the new normal),” she added.

Despite the challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) will push through with the implementation of the distance learning modality for the school opening on Oct. 5.

With this, classes will now be held online and printed learning modules will be distributed to students.

“Bilang paghahanda, nauna nating binigyan ng laptop ang lahat ng ating mga principals sa buong Mandaluyong, kasama na rin ang mga personnel ng school ng division (As preparation, we first provided laptops to all our principals in Mandaluyong, including schools division personnel),” the mayor said.

“Hinahanda na lang natin o kinokumpleto na lang natin ang pagbibigay ng laptop sa 2,300 teachers sa buong lungsod kabilang ang mga education supervisors mula sa ibat-ibang asignatura (We are just preparing for the distribution of laptops to 2,300 teachers across the city including education supervisors from various subjects),” she added.

As for public school students, Abalos said the city government will provide them with free tablets containing the learning modules they need for their classes.

“Sa mga susunod na linggo, ipapamahagi na rin ang 41,000 units ng educational learning tablets para sa lahat ng mag-aaral sa Lungsod ng Mandaluyong (In the coming weeks, 41,000 units of educational learning tablets will be distributed to all students in Mandaluyong City),” she said.

The mayor noted that only public school students from Grades 4 to 12 are entitled to receive the learning gadgets.

“Handang-handa na tayo sa padating na pasukan. Siguradong walang makakapigil sa ating hangaring maibigay ang pinakamainam na edukasyon para sa ating mga anak (We are ready for the upcoming school opening. Surely, nothing can stop our desire to provide the best education for our children),” Abalos said.