TO MAKE it easier and affordable for its students and teachers to get access to computers and the internet for the incoming school opening, the University of Cebu (UC) plans to rent internet cafes in Cebu Province and convert these into study hubs.
UC chancellor Candice Gotianuy, in a Facebook post addressed to internet cafe owners on Aug. 16, 2020, said the school is looking for internet cafes that have at least 15 or 20 computer units (but has room for expansion) that can accept flash drives, a good internet connection, a safe environment and that are willing to open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The priority locations Gotianuy mentioned include the cities of Carcar, Toledo and Bogo and the island of Mactan. She, however, said UC is also open for other cities, towns or neighboring islands, such as Camotes, where there is a large population of UC students.
Interested internet cafe owners, she said, may send an email at inetcafe@uc.edu.ph.
Gotianuy said the school management understands that majority of students and teachers have limited access to devices and the internet that they can use for their classes that start on Sept. 1.
“We thought, okay, there are internet cafes all over the province. So, why don’t we utilize that so it becomes easier for them and it becomes less gastos (costly) because it’s most likely near their place so they don’t have to spend for lodging, for board and for transportation,” she told SunStar Cebu.
UC vice chancellor Ofelia Maña said students who have intermittent internet connection can access the learning management system (LMS) that the school will use at internet cafes where e-books and other learning resources will be integrated. E-books, she said, are downloadable via the LMS.
She said senior high school and college students can purchase e-books that will be integrated into the LMS.
Maña said e-book will be cheaper by almost 50 percent than the usual printed books.
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For junior high school and elementary students, they will also subscribe to e-books and the LMS. The school will also provide them with free printed books for five core subjects, she said.
Gotianuy said they are working under the umbrella of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the region. They are also coordinating with concerned local government units, she added.
She said they appreciate the Philippine National Police (PNP) for helping them with the required travel passes. She said the school will tap the PNP for assistance in securing the safety of students once these internet study hubs open.
Gotianuy said they will issue identification cards that will serve as the students’ gate pass to the study hub once they enroll.
The school is also thinking of establishing guidelines to ensure these study hubs become controlled environments.
“Let’s say, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then 10 to noon and so on, then every two hours, we can clean up and disinfect the area,” Gotianuy said.
Aside from social distancing, everyone in the study hub will also be required to wear face masks and other suitable personal protective equipment, she said.
She said the cost of operating these internet cafes will be shouldered by UC, adding that the school will not add it to the students’ miscellaneous fees.
Meanwhile, Gotianuy said renting internet cafes is not their only plan.
She said they have also partnered with the Cebu Electric Cooperative to install computers in the cooperative’s buildings in the cities of Carcar, Toledo and Bogo.
As cabling is expensive, she said they’ve decided to put up the computers as a stand alone so students can use them in offline typing and saving of their reports and essays, among others.
Gotianuy said they are also looking at sending “champions” (either a teaching or non-teaching individual) to each area, who can assist in answering students’ questions related to the school. Through this, she said, they can maintain the spirit of community even with the remote setup.
She also said all UC campuses will be open for students and teachers living in and near the tri-cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu Lapu, who wish to use the computers, facilities and the internet. Guidelines for these, she said, will soon be released. (WBS)