The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in another interruption of the school year in public schools. If we add to this the interruption in 2018 due to the public educators’ strike, we find a generation of students who will have lost almost two school years in quick succession, which will have serious consequences.
Meanwhile, in many private schools, classes continue through electronic devices such as a tablet or a mobile phone of a certain size, with an internet connection and an application like Zoom or similar to connect. Private schools have lost almost no time and their students are moving forward, just as they did in 2018 during the strike.
In the face of this alarming situation, it is necessary to find solutions so that students, who represent the future of the country, are not further affected by the various vicissitudes that plague public, free, and universal education in our country. The answer seems obvious: it is necessary to be able to offer online classes so that, during a strike, a pandemic, or other types of catastrophes, education is not interrupted.
Although it seems like such an obvious solution, it presents two problems: one is economic and the other involves access to telecommunications services. Not all public school students have the electronic device or the necessary connection to receive their classes virtually. Fortunately, however, the country does have the resources to seek solutions to this problem and thus eliminate the digital divide. These resources are held in the National Telecommunications Fund (FONATEL).
SUTEL has generated initiatives for the administration of FONATEL to carry out the National Telecommunications Development Plan, executing the principles of universal access, universal service, and solidarity regimes, and creating solutions to the digital divide. One of these programs is called Connected Homes; however, in situations like the current one, these programs could be improved and made more dynamic, allowing for the fulfillment of the objectives outlined in the General Telecommunications Law, for example: “to reduce the digital divide, guarantee greater equality of opportunities, as well as the enjoyment of the benefits of the information and knowledge society by promoting connectivity, infrastructure development, and the availability of access devices and broadband services.”
Given the context of strikes and national emergencies, a simple way to implement online education immediately is to award the FONATEL funds through public tenders with the mobile phone companies in the country. These companies, participating in a consortium with device and IT solutions companies, could provide mobile internet through different types of plans and electronic devices like tablets (not necessarily computers), as well as the security systems required by the Ministry of Public Education.
The solution should be implemented via mobile telephony for several reasons:
- According to coverage obligations, the three mobile operators in the country have wide national coverage with 3G or superior technology in many areas of the national territory, so it would not be necessary to create additional infrastructure.
- It must be taken into consideration that, according to information from the State of the Nation, the conditions of a large number of homes in the country are not the best for having a computer. Therefore, what is really needed is to work with tablet-type devices (as private schools do) that allow students to access platforms for online education. Some homes barely have electricity, so providing them with a fixed internet connection makes no sense.
- It saves the time of infrastructure generation, so the implementation duration would only be the time it takes for the administrative bidding processes. During this time, the MEP can easily adjust its work plan and logistics.
A solution like this could allow for the delivery of more devices to a greater number of students, since their cost would likely be lower, thus reducing the digital divide in generations that will be the future of our country. Contracts using equipment leasing could be analyzed to more consistently update the devices for the beneficiary population.