The Philippine Congress has earmarked around PHP3.0 billion in fresh funds to convert 112 state universities and colleges (SUCs) to “smart campuses.” This welcome development to the current state of SUCs in the country was revealed by Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr., House Appropriations Committee Vice-Chairperson this weekend.
“We’ve provided PHP3 billion in new appropriations to help SUCs quickly develop digitally connected campuses where devices and applications create new experiences that benefit students, faculty, and their surrounding communities,” according to Congressman Campos.
“Students may soon be able to attend classroom lectures remotely from the comfort of their dormitory rooms and use their smartphones to access their grades, pay for meals in campus and borrow books from the library,” added by Cong. Campos.
Under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which was signed into law by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte last 11 September 2020, Cong. Campos said SUCs can use the PHP3 billion allocated to fast-track the integration of digital technologies into their learning and administrative systems. Digital technologies can be in the form of electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store and process data.
Apart from the aforementioned funding, the gentleman from Makati City also said that in the National Expenditure Program for 2021, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will be spending another PHP309 million to upgrade the password-free Internet networks of SUCs.
On the otherhand, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) earlier said that only 20% of SUCs are equipped to conduct online classes. At present, there are around 1.3 million students currently enrolled in all SUCs.
Cong. Campos has been batting for greater public access to a much reliable Internet service. He has a pending bill which when passed will categorize high-speed Internet access as a basic telecommunications service for all.
The measure empowers the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to command PLDT Inc., Globe Telecom Inc., DITO Telecommunity Inc., and other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to deliver better connection speeds within prescribed deadlines or face harsh regulatory penalties.