MANILA - More than 8,000 students from select schools in Valenzuela will receive SIM cards with monthly internet data for the entire academic year, the city government said Monday as the country's education system shifts to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The recipients are students from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, Valenzuela City Polytechnic College, and Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science, the city government said in a statement.

The SIM cards come with 34 gigabytes of data allocation, 4 gigabytes open access data, and 1 gigabyte per day for study applications.

"This program is part of the overall plan of the city to keep the students educated," Mayor Rex Gatchalian said.

With the SIM cards, students will be able to "maximize" the use of learning management system (LMS) Canvas, according to the local government.

"Our subscription to our LMS will be of no use if the students have no means to access the system," Gatchalian said.

Aside from Valenzuela, other local governments in the capital region—such as Manila, Makati and Pasig—have also distributed gadgets and pocket WiFi units to public school teachers and students in their localities.

• Makati students to get flash drives with learning materials for distance learning
• Manila gov't distributes gadgets for public school teachers, students

On Monday, more than 22 million public school learners resumed their studies.

Overall, 24.7 million learners were enrolled in basic education this year, short of around 3 million from last year's total number of students, according to data from the Department of Education.

• DepEd says first day of classes a success, no major difficulties experienced
• With school opening, Briones declares victory against COVID-19