Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan (Facebook)

A Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) official-turned-congressman is pushing for the approval of a measure that would provide an initial P500-million investment by the state for the digital transformation of the country’s public school system.

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan says the measure---House Bill (HB) No.276—will set the stage for the modernization of the country’s public schools and help both teachers and students in tapping technology as a powerful educational tool.

“In the last pandemic, digital technology was used as a crisis management tool to ensure that most students were able to continue learning even when lockdowns and other health protocols were in place. But today, even without a crisis, digital technology has proven to be a must in facilitating learning inside and outside the classroom,” said Yamsuan, one of the co-authors of the proposed Institutionalization of Digital Technology in Public Education Act.

Yamsuan said that unlike in private schools where students can immediately opt to shift to online classes during strong typhoons, floods and other emergencies, public school pupils are left with no option but to resort to makeup classes or use modules whenever face-to-face learning is suspended.

The former DILG assistant secretary said the new guidelines issued by the Department of Education (DepEd) on class suspensions underscore the urgency of investing in digital technology in public schools.

Under the DepEd’s revised guidelines on class suspensions, face-to face classes in public schools in areas under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 are automatically suspended only for Kindergarten.

Face-to-face classes from Kindergarten to Grade 10 will only be automatically suspended during TCWS Signal No. 2, provided that students shift to online or modular distance learning, performance tasks, projects or makeup classes to ensure learning continuity.

Classes and work in all levels under TCWS No. 3 and above are automatically suspended. The same distance learning modalities were also issued in areas under heavy rainfall and other emergencies.

In the previous DepEd order, a declaration of TCWS No. 1 means the automatic suspension of in-person classes from preschool to Grade 12.

“These options should have covered the use of digital technology for all public schools to provide students with better learning outcomes. But unfortunately, not all our public schools have the necessary tools to shift to online learning. The government needs to invest now in institutionalizing the digitalization of our public schools so that we can be prepared for whatever challenges our education system may face now and in the future,” Yamsuan said.

“Institutionalizing the use of digital technology in our public school system will help promote inclusive learning as this will increase the access of marginalized communities to quality education via the Internet. Digitalization will also ensure that our students are future-ready and globally competitive,” added the aspiring Paran̈aque district congressman.

Yamsuan also cited a recent statement by the private think tank Stratbase Institute, which said that “the digital transformation of our public schools is no longer an option but an urgent necessity” to “elevate our students’ learning competencies".

Under HB No.276, the DepEd is mandated to formulate a Digital Technology Road Map for Public Schools in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

“The amount of Five Hundred Million Pesos (Ph500,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated as the initial operating fund” to implement the provisions of the measure, the bill states.

Thereafter, such amount necessary to effectively carry out the measure’s provisions shall be included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget.

Stratbase Institute’s proposal for the government and the private sector to collaborate in implementing the digital transformation of the public school system complements the objectives of HB No. 276, Yamsuan said.

The neophyte solon says the proposed Road Map aims to broaden and maximize the use of digital technology to aid learning in a rapidly changing and increasingly globalized environment, as well as establish a system of constantly upgrading outdated technology in public schools.

The bill also provides for the training of teachers and students in public schools to enable them to hone their digital skills, as well as a review of the Road Map every five years or as may be deemed necessary.