Manila – Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has urged the telecommunication companies to install cell sites in every public school as the country prepares for distance learning due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Gatchalian described his proposal as “hitting two birds with one stone” as the installation of cell sites would ensure internet access nationwide and at the same time improve the country’s education system.
“Out of the almost 62 thousand schools nationwide, merong 47 thousand na public schools. Now, there are about 42 thousand barangays nationwide. So bawat barangay merong public school at kung pwede nating patayuan ng cell site at wifi-based station sa bawat public school, sagip na natin ang buong Pilipinas dahil buong barangay ay makakabitan natin ng cell site,” said Gatchalian.
“Ang proposal natin sa telecommunication companies ay gamitin ang lupa ng ating mga public school,” he added.
“Kung meron sana tayong sapat na imprastraktura, meron tayong internet, meron tayong mga gadgets, hindi magiging problema ‘yung pagtuturo sa mga estudyante, lalo na ngayong kailangan nating mag-shift sa distance learning,” he further said.
Based on the data from the Department of Education (DepEd), around 58% of elementary schools, 80% of junior high schools and 72% of senior high schools are connected to the internet.
Based on a mapping of public schools and cell site towers by Project BASS or Bandwidth and Signal Statistics, 44 percent or 20,398 public schools were found to be located more than six kilometers away from the nearest cell site, which means they have either very poor or no access to the internet.
The ideal distance for a school to the closest cell site should not be more than three kilometers to get a good internet connection.
“In the long run, these cell sites would save the country’s public schools billions of pesos to pay for internet connection,” Gatchalian said. “Bridging the digital divide will help the country’s education system to innovate and ensure that no learner is left behind.”
“Moving forward, kahit wala nang COVID-19, importante ring pagsikapan nating maabot ang bawat isang kabahayan gamit ang internet, at mabigyan natin ang mga bata ng kagamitan, mga gadgets, para magamit nila sa pag-aaral,” he added./PN
