If Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte would have his way, he would put up e-learning centers in every municipality and city in the country as a way to buttress the education system amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Rep. Duterte, son of former President Rodrigo Duterte, filed House Bill (HB) No. 453 for this purpose.
“It shall serve as a venue wherein people from all walks of life could have access to information and communication technologies. This shall benefit not just the youth but also adults who seek to gain further knowledge and develop new skills,” Rep. Duterte said.
In filing the measure, the Mindanao solon recognized the imminent need for accessibility and availability of alternative modes of learning to at least alleviate the repercussions of the pandemic not only in terms of the quality of the educational system but also to the well-being of the students and teachers.
“To eradicate these hindrances in our educational system, this bill seeks to establish at least one e-learning center in every municipality and city in the country,” the second-term lawmaker said.
Rep. Duterte pointed out that since distance learning has been incorporated as the primary mode of learning during the pandemic, it was observed that a number of students, as well as teachers, have struggled with such mode of learning due to lack of resources.
A number of students even decided to stop their studies due to additional barriers they cannot easily overcome, he also said.
Under the bill, when an e-learning center already exists, its upgrading shall be undertaken, while existing public libraries and reading centers shall be upgraded into e-learning centers or their materials and system be digitized.
Jointly introduced by Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and four other colleagues, the implementing agencies of the proposed statute will be spearheaded by the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), the National Library of the Philippines, the local government units, among other concerned government agencies.