The Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) of the Palawan National School (PNS) is supporting the proposed use of the radio-frequency identification (RFID) wireless system technology for students.
Association president Domingo Padul said Monday that majority of the parents who attended the consultation meeting on June 15 are in favor of the RFID implementation.
“As PTA president, I know that majority of them support… majority of the parents support the implementation of RFID and I have to support also because looking at the benefits that the parents can get out of that RFID, it is useful. I am for the positive implementation of RFID at Palawan National School,” Padul said.
However, he said parents who do not want to support it will not be forced.
Padul said students who want to remain using their old IDs can do so.
PNS school IV Eduardo Santos said the pilot testing of the RFID is set on the second week of July.
“Sa assessment ko kanina (June 15) almost 100 percent naman ‘yong gustong mag-avail noon. Actually, pina-ready ko na lahat ng mga data at ipro-provide na ‘yong mga RFID na gagamitin ng mga estudyante,” Santos said.
He said the school management has already constructed a new gate for the RFID pass, while those who do not want to avail can use Gates 2 and 5.
FS Del Rosario Company, which has proposed the modern ID system, will be the provider of the software and hardware that will be used for the pilot testing.
Under the contract, the FS Del Rosario Company will be paid an initial amount of P1 million.
It will receive the remaining P500,000 payment as soon as the system has been fixed for full utilization by PNS students.
“Sabi ko nga may mas mura na magpro-provide, ‘yon ang i-a-avail namin pero definitely, wala talaga, walang service provider na makakapagbigay ng ganoong service dito sa PNS. Nagkaroon kami ng usapan na P1 million muna ang ibibigay namin sa kanila then kapag na-fix na lahat saka namin ibibigay ‘yong P500 thousand,” he said.
He said the school did not conduct any bidding because the budget will come from the contributions of all the teachers in the school amounting to P10,000 each.
Santos said the RFID is free and the parents will only pay P1,000 for the short messaging system (SMS) that will inform parents about the whereabouts of their students inside the school premises.
The parents, he added, can pay the amount on an installment basis.
The package also includes a warranty in case it is damaged, as well as a solar power system to ensure it will operate even when power is out in the city.
“Sila ‘yong bahala kung masira ang machine, sila ang papalit at gagawa. In terms ng power supply, meron kaming naka-ready dito na solar installation para in case na brownout, hindi maaapektuhan ang RFID,” he said.
The PNS is the biggest public high school in Puerto Princesa City with over 9,000 enrolled students.
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