CHED seeks free access to online educational resources for students

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to give students free access to online repositories of educational resources.

In his eighth weekly report to Congress, President Rodrigo Duterte said the CHED pushed for zero-rated internet access, which allows users to access content without incurring data charges, to benefit three million higher education students.

He also said the CHED had initiated meetings with public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) to prepare for the transition towards flexible learning arrangements.

Malacañang said last week the opening of classes in universities and colleges amid the COVID-19 pandemic will depend on the education delivery mode.

The guidelines approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 response are as follows:

• HEIs using full online education can open anytime

• HEIs using flexible learning can open anytime in August 2020

• HEIs using significant residential (face-to-face/in-person) mode can open not earlier than September 1, 2020 in areas under general community quarantine

• No residential (face-to-face/in-person) classes until August 31, 2020

The government also urged private HEIs to change their academic calendar and open in August 2020. —LDF, GMA News