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PHINMA FOUNDATION BOOSTS DUALTECH’S E-LEARNING ENDEAVOR

PHINMA Foundation Boosts Dualtech’s E-learning Endeavor

“Effectively harness PHINMA’s resources to create a culture of service to the community and provide opportunities for Filipinos to access the essentials of a dignified life.”

-PHINMA Foundation-
Mission Statement

A year after the Philippine government implemented quarantine measures which limited schools to only do remote learning; the situation has made Dualtech even more resolute to continue to provide education to its scholars.

The problems of connectivity in the country, compounded by the impact of natural calamities, are among the factors that pose difficulties in an already challenging educational environment. Some teachers’ limited capacity to cope with the technological intricacies of online learning, is another. These strongly suggest that the past year has not been as effective to students as face-to-face classes prior to the pandemic.

However, Dualtech rallies forward. There is no doubt online learning is the way to go. The pandemic has disrupted educational systems everywhere and the digital option has become the major alternative. When restrictions are eased, parents and students will still be cautious in going to school. Yet, a child’s education cannot wait even with the coming of the vaccine. E-learning bridges home and school.

Dualtech has invested time and resources into e-Learning. In an address to Dualtech partners Mr. Arnolfo Morfe, Dualtech President stated “The e-Learning is not something new to us as you [partners] may have seen during your visits of our campus facility. We have long been capable of providing training modules made available for our student via computer and tablets.” What the pandemic forced Dualtech to do was to provide e-learning not only in-campus but off-campus as well.

Through a donation by PHINMA Foundation, Dualtech was able to boost its e-learning capacity. The learners can accelerate through technological concepts as they choose at their own pace.

In the nearby villages where most of the students’ boarding house are located, WiFi repeaters/boosters were set up. Dualtech also donated computers for the use of students in those locations. The learning continues and PHINMA Foundation helped make this possible.

The impact of this assistance extends far and wide, During the onset of the quarantine, Dualtech had to attend to 1,600 students coming from all over the Philippines from Bubuyan Islands to Basilan who were considered stranded. Dualtech provided meals, food relief or cash remittance for those in far places for OJT assignments. In time, Dualtech also sent learning kits and resumed mentoring via online media and pursued e-learning through the web and phone apps which were developed by the Dualtech learning team.

The crisis also highlights the heroism of the learners themselves. The anecdotes of students crossing rivers, trekking hills or climbing trees just to get better signals were real. The massive effort for learning which students are enjoined to exert corresponds in no lesser terms to the sacrifices which older generations were called to offer during the crisis of war in the past century.

To the students who came from Bataan, applying this internal campaign of treating learning like a war effort, the mentors exhort “Wag nyo isusuko ang Bataan! (Do not give up Bataan!)”

For most of the scholars, e-learning means “effort-learning” as they need to balance both their study and at the same time their responsibilities at home.

Romar, from Mariveles Bataan, being the eldest of 6 siblings, had to help his mother to attend to the chores while his father works as a construction worker. Despite the challenge of distance learning [at home], he satisfied the knowledge-based training and was then recommended by his learning facilitator to move to Canlubang campus for face-to-face sessions to complete hands-on projects in order to both acquire and apply the necessary actual technical skills Dualtech intended them to achieve through the program.

A group of scholars from Camarines Sur also shared the same difficulty such as the availability of gadgets and intermittent internet signal to none at all. Some volunteer ALS-teachers set up a satellite learning hub that gives these learners the access to Dualtech e-learning materials. Over 30 of them were accepted by various industry partners for in-plant training and still more are benefiting from the e-learning infrastructure as far as Camarines Sur and other areas in the Bicol region.

The Phinma Group, having interests in power, education, hotels, real estate, consultancy and steel products also has under its umbrella, The PHINMA Education Network and PHINMA Foundation that support different advocacies that make lives better. In the words of Ramon del Rosario, Jr. President & CEO of PHINMA, Inc. “Our academic and business model is designed primarily to cater to the needs, challenges and aspirations of underserved youth. The company brings in partnerships that will support our mission in the Philippines, and in the rest of the region, as well,” Del Rosario saw and made possible the integration of corporate social responsibility work into the core business of a company.

Dualtech is grateful to PHINMA for its generosity. “Thank you for sharing in Dualtech’s mission. We would have not survived 2020 without your support.” Mr. Gener Mendoza, Chairman of Dualtech, mentioned in his message.

E-learning efforts is well underway in Dualtech. Thanks to PHINMA Foundation.

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