Bill seeking digitized copies of textbooks pushed in Senate
Published May 5, 2023 03:17 am
A bill seeking to pursue an ideal textbook-student ratio in all public schools in the country is now being pushed in the Senate.
Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said Senate Bill No. 2075 primarily seeks to realize the ideal 1:1 student-textbook ratio by mandating that all textbooks and reference books in public elementary and secondary schools in digital copies.
Estrada said passage of the measure into law will help fasttrack the government’s goal of ensuring there is sufficient textbooks available to all public school students.
“Kung pipilitin natin na mabigyan ng sapat na bilang ng libro ang bawat mag-aaral sa mga pampublikong paaralan, matatagalan pa ito (If we insist on giving each student a sufficient number of books in public schools, that will take a long time),” the senator said.
Ang pagkakaroon ng digital copies na maa-access nila gamit ang internet ang tanging paraan na nakikita ko upang magutunan ang kanilang pangangailangan (Having digital copies that they can access using the internet is the only way I see to meet their needs),” Estrada said as he pushed for SB 2075.
The lawmaker noted the insufficient number of textbooks in public schools remain a serious concern. With the sheer number of students, the achievement of the ideal textbook-to-student ratio is far from realization, he pointed out.
“In this light, the Philippine Online Library can supplement the required books, especially for students who have internet connectivity,” he said.
“Apart from serving the needs of the students and teachers, this reliable database will be useful by both present and future generations,” he added.
Under the bill, the Department of Education (DepEd) would be tasked to make digitized copies of all textbooks and reference books of students in public elementary and secondary schools.
These copies shall be compiled in the proposed Philippine Online Library, that would be jointly managed by the DepEd and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT).
DepEd shall provide computers and laptops to all primary and secondary public schools nationwide, while the DICT shall provide fast and reliable internet to ensure access to the digitized copies of textbooks, Estrada said.
He also said the recycling of computers, laptops, etc of all national government agencies, GOCCs, and government financial institutions shall be required under the measure.
In procuring new computers, he said the DepEd shall endorse their old units to the DICT for examination and these will be distributed to primary and secondary schools nationwide if found to be still in good condition.
Estrada said this is necessary to offset the expenses that will be incurred in procuring the computers and laptops for students.
Under the propsoed law, the DepEd and the National Library of the Philippines will have joint custody over the digitized copies of the textbooks.
The bill introduces an initial amount of P500-million, appropriated by Congress, and which will be jointly managed by the DepEd and DICT for the undertaking. Funds for the succeeding years, will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).