Marcos calls for closing digital gap in education with technology

During his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced plans to close the digital gap in education by equipping students with computers, smart TVs, essential programs, and access to reliable power and internet.

Marcos emphasized that digitalization should become a standard feature in schools and classrooms, aiming for educational reform through technology.

He acknowledged that Filipino students lag behind their foreign counterparts in math, reading, and science based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The President stressed that national learning recovery efforts must proceed without distraction to ensure basic education is improved through strategic calibration.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara highlighted the President's commitment to teachers' welfare and improving educational quality following poor PISA results in 2022.

However, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers called for concrete plans from the government to address ongoing issues such as classroom shortages, teacher shortages, and lack of learning materials and facilities.