U. of Southern Mindanao bans social networks during office hours

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Going Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites during office hours is now strictly prohibited at the state-run University of Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan town in North Cotabato. USM president Dr. Jesus Derije issued the order days after he caught some employees inside some of the offices at the university opening Facebook and other websites during office hours. Some were even caught playing online games. Derije has also directed the head of the university’s Information Communication Technology Center (ICTC) to monitor the opening of websites, considering that such activities affect the speed of their local area network (LAN) connection. Derije said he had no choice but to issue the order since chatting through Facebook and other social networking sites during office hours have affected the output of university employees distracted from their professional work. But many employees complained that the ban was unfair since they spend most of their time on the Internet researching for their reports and class subjects. For them, the latest trend in learning and teaching is using Internet. “This is what we call, e-learning, meaning, using modern technology to advance learning and education," said one USM faculty member. As one of the country’s largest state universities, USM now has a student population of more than 8,000 and has a faculty and non-teaching staff of over 1,600. — Malu Cadeliña Manar/MRT/VS, GMA News