NextGen Day

A study of the application of Republic Act (RA) No. 10929, also known as the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, was requested by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian after learning that just 1.8 percent of public schools in the country have access to free public Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity).

Gatchalian submitted Proposed Senate Resolution No. 59, which requests a review of the application of RA 10929 and the Open Distance Learning Act (RA 10650), which requires the University of the Philippines Open University to make a contribution to improving the quality of the nation’s educational system by creating innovative teaching methods and technologies and sharing these with other colleges and universities through cooperative initiatives.

During the discussion of the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s proposed PHP7.3 billion budget for 2023, which includes PHP2.5 billion set aside for the implementation of RA 10929, Gatchalian asked the department to make sure it would achieve its goal of rolling out internet connection in public places, including educational institutions.

In a news release on Monday, Gatchalian stated that “our learners are the ones who would greatly gain from this because it will increase the flow of information, especially for our lowest citizens.”

According to the Free Public Wi-Fi Dashboard, as of September 2, just 860 public schools, or 1.8 percent of the 47,421 public schools nationwide, offered free public Wi-Fi.

Additionally, data revealed that the proportion of public schools offering a free connection has been decreasing since October 2021, when there were only 1,190 (2.5%) and lower than 945 (2%) such locations, respectively.

The senator made a point of pointing out how the Covid-19 outbreak highlighted the nation’s digital gap, particularly the move to remote study that highlighted the necessity for an easily accessible and dependable internet connection.

Only 40% of low-income families, according to a 2021 World Bank poll, have access to the internet, and 95,5 percent of these households used learning materials and modules that were printed on paper.

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