(Eagle News)–The Department of Education is pushing for a connectivity allowance for public school teachers and senior high school students for the first months of the year 2021.
In a statement, the department said Education Secretary Leonor Briones has requested the Department of Budget and Management for P4 billion in funds for the implementation of the Digital Education, Information Technology and Digital Infrastructure and Alternative Learning Modalities.
Under the initiative, each of the 900,000 public school teachers would receive a P450 load allowance each month, while the 3.2 million senior high school students would get P250 each month for three months.
The remaining P400 million would be used for the creation of additional learning materials for DepEd Commons, DepEd TV and radio (P200 million); for the printing and distribution of self-learning modules (P150 million) and for the construction of 2,000 radio transmitters in Last Mile Schools (P50 million).
“We recognize the importance of load allowance for our learners and teachers to deliver quality education despite these challenging times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Briones said.
Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said
“With support from our Congress and the DBM, we shall continue to push for more financial assistance to our stakeholders,” she added.
Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said with teachers will be able to download education videos and talk more to their students.
He clarified, however, that they could also download these resources from DepEd Commons for free, even in the absence of load.
“Learners can also watch DepEd TV live streaming for free at https://www.facebook.com/DepEdTVOfficial/,” he said.
He added the department was also in talks with telecommunication companies to look for more ways to further boost distance learning.
