The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how the internet has changed the education landscape. On one hand, it revealed how much the education system has evolved from traditional classroom setting to incorporating digital tools and resources, whether face-to-face or through online instruction.  

On the other, however, it also showed how connectivity remains out of reach for many children. Government data showed that 20 percent of the 6.5 million school children who have access to the internet use computer shops or other public Wi-Fi connections to go online while about 2.8 million school children, mostly in rural areas, have no connection to the internet at all.  

In this light, schools play an important role in bridging that gap. New technologies available in the Philippines, such as Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7, can help elevate the state of education in the country, as it provides more bandwidth and less interference, and enhanced speed and efficiency for its users. Powering schools with such can also help in streamlining workflow in running the school system, making it more efficient and effective. Such access can later be shared to the bigger community, where school children are struggling with connectivity, and later affecting their access to quality education.  

With this, the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC), through its Professional Development Program, is offering a short course on how to better understand and avail of this technology, such as Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7, that could facilitate the fulfillment of high quality education in the country.  

This will be helpful to school administrators and their IT professionals who aim to create a more conducive environment for learning. The promises of both Wi-Fi models range from enhanced learning experiences up to future-proofing the infrastructure of educational institutions, as these technologies provide necessary bandwidth and performance to accommodate a large volume of infrastructures.