Mariano Marcos
State University

MMSU–CTE, Philippine National School for the Blind tie up for internship program

Nina Christelle Sumintac, STRATCOM Correspondent

Mariano Marcos State University–College of Teacher Education (CTE) and the Philippine National School for the Blind (PNSB) partnered to launch an internship program through the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) on July 7, 2025, in Pasay City.

Prof. May Flor Rivera, chair of the early childhood and special needs education department at MMSU CTE, explained that the main goal of this agreement is to secure an internship placement for John Meldrick Rasalan, an incoming fourth-year Bachelor of Special Needs Education (BSNEd) student and a learner with a visual impairment, while also creating similar opportunities for future students.

Under this agreement, MMSU commits to selecting and recommending qualified BSNEd students for internships at PNSB, supervising and assessing their performance, and providing support, including instructional materials and faculty guidance.

PNSB, in turn, will accept MMSU interns and ensure they receive practical training in teaching learners with visual impairments. The school will also help expose interns to assistive technologies and classroom management strategies tailored to the needs of learners who are blind or visually impaired.

Throughout the five-year agreement, both MMSU and PNSB will collaborate on activities that strengthen teacher education and enhance education for learners with visual impairments. These include joint research projects, developing instructional materials, training programs, and community outreach initiatives.

Prof. Rivera, Mr. Vernon Jeffery Ponce, BSNEd program coordinator, and Dr. Nora Pablo, PNSB principal, attended the MoA signing. It was witnessed by Ms. Angelica Ancheta, Ms. Crysta Limos, BSNEd faculty members, and Mr. Ronal Manguiat of PNSB.

Through this agreement, MMSU and PNSB aim to create practical and meaningful learning experiences for future special needs educators, embodying the PNSB’s guiding belief: “When sight ends, vision begins.”

MMSU President Virgilio Julius P. Manzano, Jr. expressed hope that this partnership will provide students with visual impairments the same opportunities as other students, emphasizing their importance in the workforce.

“Let this partnership flourish as we establish inclusivity in the Philippine higher education sector and workforce development,” Dr. Manzano stated.

PNSB was officially established on July 10, 1970, by Republic Act No. 3562. This law, titled “An Act to Promote the Education of the Blind in the Philippines,” mandated the creation of PNSB as an independent institution dedicated to educating learners with visual impairments.