DILG: LGUs planning to donate gadgets to schools should comply with DepEd technical specs

In light of the plans of many Local Government Units to donate tablets and other learning gadgets to their respective public schools, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has urged local government units (LGUs) who are doing so to comply with the minimum technical specifications set by the Department of Education (DepEd).

“We all want to help our schools, especially our teachers and learners, cope and adjust with the new normal in education brought about by the pandemic but we don’t want these expensive gadgets to go to waste. We must be sure that they will be utilized. Hence, we encourage our LGUs who are planning to donate ICT equipment to be guided by the technical specs given by DepEd when they make their donation,” said DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan E. Malaya.

In a memorandum circular to governors, mayors and punong barangays, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año informed all LGUs of the DepEd’s minimum technical specifications and also advised the LGUs that there is no need to purchase Microsoft Office as DepEd will facilitate the installation of the said software given that they have a special Volume Licensing Agreement with Microsoft.

Malaya also said that DepEd can arrange an “‘Email of Eligibility” for LGU-donors from Microsoft that can be provided to device manufacturers to build fresh devices with discounted Windows 10 Operating System.

He said that LGUs may provide ICT gadgets to schools by way of a Deed of Donation, or by commodatum through a written agreement in favor of the Schools Division Office (SDO) or the public schools themselves. “This is for purposes of proper recording and accountability,” he said.

In behalf of the DILG, he also commended Biñan City Mayor Arman Dimaguila, Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno, and Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto for allocating funds for the donation of ICT gadgets to public schools and teachers to help them learn and work from home in this time of pandemic.

“Saludo po ang DILG sa mga LGUs na nakaprograma nang mag-donate ng mga laptops, tablets at smartphones at nagpapamalas ng kanilang pagmamalasakit sa mga eskuwelahan, estudyante at mga guro. Your donation will go a long way in ensuring the success of the government’s distance education initiatives,” he said.

Mayor Dimaguila recently turned over some 151 Lenovo laptop computers and 200 75-inch Smart TVs for its public schools and teachers in Biñan. On the other hand, Mayor Olivarez is set to donate 7,000 tablets to kindergarten and Grade 1 students as well as 300 laptops and provide internet allowance to Parañaque public school teachers, while Mayor Isko is set to procure 110,000 tablets with SIM cards and 11,000 laptops with pocket WiFi devices for Manila public school students and teachers.

According to the DILG Memorandum, the following are the minimum specs for laptops: a processor with 1.6Ghz Based Speed, with Turbo Speed; a screen size of 13 inches, Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), 1080p Anti-Glare LED-Backlit or IPS Techn010U; memory of 8 QB RAM; storage of 512 GB HDD SATA; and connectivity of Wireless LAN 802.11 b/ g /n/ac Bluetooth.

For tablets, the specs are: Quad-core 1.3 GHz processor; a display size of 8 inches; display resolution of 800 x 1280 Pixels; storage of 32 GB; and a 4G LTE (Optional, Preferred) Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth network.

For smartphones, they must have an Octa-core 2.0 GHz processor; a display size of 6 inches; a display type of IPS LCD Display; display resolution of 720 x 1520 Pixels; storage of 32 GB; network of GSM / HSPA / LTE Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth; and must have dual SIM.*