Senator Sherwin Gatchalian announced on July 19, 2022, that he filed a bill to make public schools free of charge for WiFi usage.
By passing Senate Bill No. 383, the government aims to “accelerate the digital transformation of the basic education sector.”
The new bill complies with Republic Act No. 10929, also known as the Public Access to Free Internet Act, which promotes free internet access in public places.
According to the Senator, this will ensure that every public school in the country has access to the internet, and will push for the digital transformation of the education sector. Additionally, the Senator believes blended learning will become the new normal after the pandemic, so he called on educators to use technology more extensively.
As a result of Gatchalian’s proposal, A free public WiFi network will be installed, deployed, and activated faster through DICT.
Currently, only 945 public schools have free WiFi, according to DICT data. This represents a small fraction of 2% of the overall number of public schools in the Philippines.
