By DANIEL P. TAPAOAN, JR.

Various groups have initiated free e-load projects for MMSU students to help them cope with flexible learning. 

A former president of the University Student Council (USC), one private and two academic groups addressed the load needs of some students by launching donation drives.  

First, Pat Quitoriano, a former student regent, raised more than Php 15,000 through his online fund drive to provide free load to MMSU students. He aims to enable the recipients to access the internet and attend their online classes.

Currently serving as the Local Youth Development Officer of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, Quitoriano seeks to put up internet connections in different barangays in the said town. Likewise, he urges the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairpersons in Ilocos Norte to provide free internet access for the students of their respective barangays.

Second, a private group launched the E-load Mo, E-learning Ko project, an initiative that aims to share PhP 100 worth of load to the underprivileged university students.

The group said that it already raised PhP 10,000 and benefited 100 students from the various colleges of MMSU last May 3.

Of this number, 53 are from the College of Business, Economics and Accountancy (CBEA); 15 from the College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development (CAFSD); 11 from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS); nine from the College of Engineering (COE) six from the College of Teacher Education (CTE); five from the College of Industrial Technology (CIT); and one from the College of Health Sciences (CHS).

The group also opened another 50 slots last May 7 and already shared free load to 32 MMSU students.

Lastly, the Department of Economics and the Economics Society of the CBEA initiated the Project Load for the BS Economics students.

Prof. Mishael Barrera, a faculty member of the said department and proponent of the project, said the initiative came after learning that internet connection is one of the concerns of their students. 

As of May 9, the team has already raised around Php 19,000 via cash and load card donations. Most of the donors are alumni of the department.

For the first batch, a total of 45 BS Economics students received Php 100 worth of load. 

Prof. Barrera said that the remaining fund will be used to buy pocket or prepaid Wi-Fi for students’ use in the first semester of academic year 2020-2021. 

All the groups are still looking for donations to help more students in the university.

MMSU is currently implementing flexible learning amid the pandemic crisis. This includes accessing websites with interactive content, use of chat rooms and discussion boards, teleconferencing or videoconferencing, videos, reading knowledge resources (e-books) and audio-resources, among others. (StratCom)