Peso vs. Ego
ABS-CBN
As we suffer this pandemic, a lot of anomalies and misconduct from our administration and system have been exposed. However, most of us are still being blinded by all the glitches that are happening in our country, especially in the field of education.
With the new mode of learning, a big leap of adjustments must come to pass. Also, as we move to online distance learning, students turned to social media for assistance in addressing the demand for online classes, for the reason that they were required to purchase new devices for them to participate and cope with classes.
Students were able to raise funds for laptops before the start of classes by participating in an online campaign called #PisoParaSaLaptop. They made donation appeals on their own social media accounts. The social media posts included a list of their previous year’s achievements and grades, proof of enrollment, and their digital wallet app—GCash account, where cash donations as small as a peso could be sent.
This kind of set-up amplifies the lack of financial aid for Filipino students. Certainly, students do not have a choice but to go with the flow of this kind of learning, however, this reveals that there is still a need for financial assistance for students, especially dealing with the transitioning and adjustments for online classes.
Indeed, a peso won’t hurt those who have generous hearts, but it will surely affect the ego of those who are in power but can’t do anything about the needs of those who deserve aid. Nevertheless, the continuous tweets and posts of students about #PisoParaSaLaptop on Facebook and Twitter have raised approximately Php1,074,502.19, and supported more than 70 students as of October 1, 2020, from the latest update of Rappler.
Up until now, students are still using this kind of structure in their social media accounts to voice out their needs for financial support. Though #PisoParaSaLaptop reflects our kind of education system, that does not mean that students should stop asking for help just to heal the wounded ego of administrators and save the country’s image from being known as deprived and unprivileged in terms of funding or supporting students with their education.
#PisoParaSaLaptop shows the needs of students to support their online classes. This is not the time to heightened our ego. This is the time to spread compassion and kindness to one another. Together, let us reach each other from a distance, and let us reach our dreams despite all the hindrances. No student must be left behind.
