DepEd-7 needs help from Cebu City for students’ tablets
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) is asking for assistance from the Cebu City government to provide tablets to the public school students in the city.
DepEd-7 needs the assistance of the city government to be able to provide tablets for the expected 170,000 enrollees in Cebu City’s public schools for school year 2020-2021.
Councilor Jessica Resch, the president of the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation in Cebu City, told CDN Digital that DepEd-7 will be using the distance modular learning method for the education of the students this school year due to the continuous threat of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the city. Resch met with the Cebu City School Board on Wednesday, July 15, 2020.
The new learning method would entail the need for gadgets that students can use at home and DepEd-7, according to Resch, cannot sustain providing the expected enrollees in the public schools this academic year, which is expected to increase from the 127,000 enrollees last year.
Councilor Resch said she already met with Mayor Edgardo Labella on Thursday, July 16, to discuss the possibility of subsidizing these gadgets for the students.
She suggested that the P500 million allotted for the school supplies for students be used for purchasing tablets instead since the students may not be physically going to school that often.
“Based on my research, a tablet will cost from P2,300 to P3,000, and if we are looking at our Special Education Funds in the city, we still have an efficient budget,” said Resch.
The councilor said the mayor expressed his desire to fulfill the project as support to the city’s students in this new learning method.
Read: DepEd, DOH mull over in-person classes in low-risk areas
“We are hoping for Mayor Labella’s support. This is a good opportunity to begin the transition from traditional learning to a modern form of learning using technology,” she added.
Resch also said the city is trying to reach out to the Information and Communication Technology sector to provide internet connection for students.
The councilor hopes that if the city government can provide the tablets, more students can keep up with this new mode of learning, and no student will be left behind. /bmjo
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