STUDENTS and teachers will continue to enjoy their free digital connections to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (Tesda) online skills-training program and other state educational channels until next year.
In a statement, Globe Telecom said it is extending free data access to the Globe eLibrary and essential learning platforms of the national government, which includes the Tesda Online Program (TOP) up to 2022.
Last year, Globe offered free access to its subscribers to make it easier for them to learn and obtain resource materials from Tesda, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) without having to incur data charges.
Numbers from e-Tesda revealed as of March 2021, TOP currently has 2,905,009 registered users since its launch in 2012.
TOP is an open educational resource aimed at making technical vocational education and training more accessible to Filipinos while broadening their employment opportunities or livelihood sources.
There are 85 online courses under various sectors available in the TOP, including computer systems servicing national certificate (NC) II, food processing NC II, bread and pastry NC II, housekeeping NC II, and other courses from sectors such as automotive, agriculture, entrepreneurship, and health care, among others.
Since 2019, Globe has been a strong partner of Tesda. Earlier, it extended communications support to the latter by providing prepaid load that enabled the agency to easily coordinate with returning overseas Filipino workers, as well as offer its training programs and services. The prepaid cards will also be used to validate the existing beneficiaries’ completion of their training.
For helping the agency reach more Filipinos in need of its services, Tesda Director General Isidro S. Lapeña thanked the telco firm.
“We are glad to have this opportunity of serving more Filipinos, in line with our guiding principle: ‘Tesda: Abot Lahat,’” Lapeña said. “Now, our services can reach our [countrymen] without having to pay for data costs.”
“We endeavor to help enhance opportunities for self-learning by making quality content available to teachers and students,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe’s chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of corporate communications. “We hope customers will take advantage of this free service to DepEd, CHED and Tesda, in cooperation with the Department of Information and Communications Technology and National Telecommunications Commission for their online learning requirements.”