To help ensure dependable Internet and ongoing education in times of emergency, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is asking the Senate to launch an investigation into implementing two laws.
These laws are the Open Distance Learning Act and the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act (Republic Act No. 10929). (Republic No. 10650).
Gatchalian filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 59 to assess how well the two laws work in classrooms and learning facilities.
The legislator also looks to find and fix implementation problems, challenges, and gaps.
The Free Internet Access in Public Places Act offered free internet service in public locations across the country.
Additionally, it offers free Wi-Fi internet access in places like state universities and colleges, alternative learning system centers, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) technology institutions.
However, as of January 29, 2022, only 945 public primary education schools—or about 2% of all public schools nationwide—had free public Wi-Fi, according to the Free Public Wi-Fi monitoring dashboard.
The Open Distance Learning Act institutionalized Open Distance Learning (ODL) to increase and further democratize access to high-quality tertiary education.
The law requires that distance education be used as a suitable, effective, and efficient method of providing the nation’s high-quality higher and technical educational services. There are currently only ten reputable institutions of higher learning that offer distance learning.
