Some 10,000 students of DepEd-Cebu City get free SIM cards from Globe

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – Some 10,000 students from Grades 1 to 10 under the DepEd-Cebu City Division to get free SIM cards from Globe Telecom under its program “Reinvent Learning with Globe” as its way of giving back to the community and to assist the education sector in coping with the blended learning in the new normal amid the pandemic.

“Internet connectivity is dire for the kind of blended learning/education in the new normal and this has been the perennial issue at the division office and in its schools within the DepEd-Cebu City Division,” Dr. Rhea Mar Angtud, Schools Division Superintendent bared this during the turnover ceremony on January 22 at the DepEd-Cebu City Division Office at Barangay Day-as, this city.

According to her that here are 36 schools under the division and 18 schools within the city do not have internet connection and she thanked Globe for this partnership.  The Telco has been its partner in several education programs of the division and thanked them for its “One Globe Connection” as solution to the nagging internet connectivity problem at the DepEd-Cebu City Division Office.

These SIM cards are to be distributed next week specifically for schools with special science classes which modules and other learnings are mostly online, Angtud added.

Adonis Evangelista, Globe regional head on the other hand said that the Telco has created specific promo intended for the students.  The SIM card comes along with internet access of 5Gig data; one Gig data access to “Go Learn Apps” and one Gig free access to “Go WiFi.”

“Pandemic must not be a hindrance to learning/education and no student must be left behind. This program is first in the Philippines and we choose Cebu City as the launching pad within the year, hopefully the program is rolled out in the country and in many years to come,” Evangelista added.

Angtud further said that the initial SIM cards distribution for next week is about 2,000 SIM cards for Abellana and Gothong schools and the rest of the cards will be distributed thereafter.

According to Dr. Danilo Gudelosao, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent that the Cebu City division has 36 schools with more than 12,000 students.  “Hopefully, with the 10,000 SIM cards, I think the Telco must add more cards to accommodate all special science students in the City,” he added.