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MANILA – The Department of Education said on Thursday it planned to provide public school teachers and high school students with a “connectivity allowance” for next year.
The Secretary of Education, Leonor Briones, requested P4 billion from the Department of Budget and Management, of which P3.6 billion will be used to cover load assignments for 3.2 million high school students and around 900,000 teachers throughout the country, DepEd said in a statement.
Once awarded, each teacher will receive a P450 load assignment, while high school students will earn P250 per month for 3 months, the DepEd said.
“We recognize the importance of load assignment for our students and teachers to provide a quality education despite these difficult times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Briones said.
The remaining P400 million will be used for printing and delivery of self-study modules, production of materials for DepEd’s streaming and online platforms and the establishment of 2,000 radio transmitters in last-mile schools, the department said.
Undersecretary of Education Alain Pascua added that DepEd was exploring more ways to support distance education by interacting with telecommunications companies in the country.
In recent months, various groups have asked DepEd to provide an Internet access allowance for teachers and students as they have incurred higher communication costs with the shift to blended learning.
Educators and students have been using the Internet to participate in online classes, one of the components of distance or blended learning, which schools are implementing this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Department of Education, DepEd, Connectivity Mapping, Internet Mapping, Teachers, Public School Teachers, Public School Students, High School Students, Distance Learning, Online Learning
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