In consonance with the UP System’s Kaagapay sa Pag-aaral ng mga Iskolar ng Bayan Fundraising and Resource Generation Campaign (Kaagapay UP), UP Open University (UPOU) launched its own UPOU-Kaagapay+ program on September 1.
Kaagapay UP seeks to provide more than 5,600 students with their remote learning needs, such as computers or laptops and internet connectivity. Of these students, around 1,600 have no financial capacity at all to acquire these technologies, and more than 4,000 are no longer able to sustain their resources because the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced their household income. The University has estimated the cost of this initiative at P80 million.
While UPOU leads in open and distance e-learning and its classes are fully online, not all of its students are equipped with the necessary technologies to continue their education at home. Some rely on internet shops, family members, or friends for computers and connectivity. Others need to physically find locations with strong and stable internet connections.
And because UPOU students are not in a traditional university setup like their peers from other UP constituent universities, they have different and unique issues. This is why UPOU-Kaagapay+ was conceived.
It builds upon Kaagapay UP’s efforts to include: student loans; income generating projects; academic support via online tutorial courses and bridge courses; technological support using apps that assist in study skills, note-taking, organizational skills, etc.; psychosocial support through counseling, access to free online support resources, helpdesk, referral system, among others; and, peer support and virtual interactions through spaces like virtual hangouts.
UPOU-Kaagapay+ details may be requested through [email protected].
For those who wish to provide financial support directly to UPOU students through UPOU-Kaagapay+, donations may be deposited to the UP Open University Foundation, Inc.’s account at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (Los Baños, Laguna branch) with account number 0911-0656-14.
(This was originally posted on the UP System website on September 10, 2020)