Thousands of UP students have been granted remote learning assistance in the course of the pandemic, according to reports from the UP System’s Padayon Public Service Office (PPSO) and the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA). Many more will benefit from the expansion or continuation of their programs this year.
Based on the February 2022 report from the PPSO on the Kaagapay sa Pag-aaral ng Iskolar ng Bayan program (#KaagapayUP), at least 1,647 students have been granted either gadgets or internet connectivity, or both since 2020 through the program which utilized P8,713,152.25 in donations. A balance of P4,053,693.07 and of $17,131.91 have been earmarked for program expansion this year.
Figures from the OSFA showed that it provided 980 students with internet connectivity and gadgets or their cash equivalent in the Academic Year (AY) 2020-2021, and 339 students from October to December of AY 2021-2022. Remote learning assistance in the form of only internet connectivity was granted to 746 students in AY 2020-2021, and to 357 students from October to December of AY 2021-2022.
Based on available data, the figures total to almost 4,000 grants of remote learning assistance to financially challenged students since the pandemic struck in 2020. UP Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia estimated that of its roughly 60,000 students, there were around 1,600 financially challenged students who would not have had the resources to acquire computers and stable internet access. She added that there were some 4,000 students from households categorized “vulnerable”, whose incomes could not fully support these needs because of the pandemic.
Launched as UP transitioned into remote learning mode in response to the pandemic in 2020, the KaagapayUP fundraising campaign has been conducted by the UP System and each constituent university (CU). Figures from only up to June 2021 are available from the local campaigns.
Information on donating to the program, administered by the PPSO, can be accessed at https://kaagapay.up.edu.ph.
KaagapayUP disburses the funds based on requests from the CUs.
The mechanism for applying for remote learning assistance and other forms of assistance from the OSFA is available at its Student Learning Assistance System Online, which can be accessed at https://slasonline.up.edu.ph/.
(This article, written by Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc, was first published in the UP System website on February 16, 2022.)