COMMUNITY | UNICEF, partners deliver digital classrooms to 97 Southern Leyte schools
The initiative expands a partnership between UNICEF and the PLDT Group that began in 2019. Since then, more than 300 School-in-a-Bag kits have been deployed to last-mile schools across the Philippines to support digital learning in underserved communities.
Students in 97 remote multigrade schools in Southern Leyte will gain access to portable digital classrooms after the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with PLDT Inc., Smart Communications, the Department of Education Region 8 and the Philippine Business for Social Progress, deployed its largest batch of School-in-a-Bag (SIAB) kits in the province.
The deployment marks UNICEF’s fourth and largest rollout of the technology-based learning packages, which are designed to help improve literacy and numeracy among learners in geographically isolated schools.
“Our mandate is to ensure that every child has equal access to quality education, especially those who are in the most marginalized communities. We hope this support will help drive meaningful changes in classrooms. These devices are not meant to add to teachers’ burden, but to help ease their workload and improve the overall teaching and learning experience for both teachers and students,” said Jieun Yoon, education specialist at UNICEF Philippines.
The initiative expands a partnership between UNICEF and the PLDT Group that began in 2019. Since then, more than 300 School-in-a-Bag kits have been deployed to last-mile schools across the Philippines to support digital learning in underserved communities.
“With the School-in-a-Bag, we aim to ensure that high-quality digital tools are within children’s reach. We are grateful to have worked with UNICEF in reaching more remote schools in the region and bringing these portable digital classrooms directly to our learners,” said Roby A. Alampay, first vice president and head of the Public Engagement and Corporate Communications Group at PLDT and Smart.
Among this year’s beneficiaries is Benit Elementary School in Malitbog, Southern Leyte, about 38 kilometers from Maasin City. School officials said the kits will help teachers manage multigrade classes despite limited personnel.
“We are truly thankful to receive the SIAB funded by UNICEF. This is a big blessing for our learners, especially in multigrade classes where one teacher supports many students at once. With or without internet connectivity, teaching and learning can continue seamlessly because the kit also works offline. Our heartfelt thanks to UNICEF, PLDT, and Smart for helping us deliver accessible and continuous learning for our children,” said Merry Ann B. Tagon, teacher-in-charge of Benit Elementary School.
Each School-in-a-Bag package contains a laptop, 10 tablets, a Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi with load allocation, a teacher’s guide and offline digital learning materials, including contextualized Learning Activity Sheets and educational applications that support literacy and numeracy instruction in learners’ mother tongue.
The initiative forms part of the PLDT Group’s #KonektedForLearning program, which aims to expand access to digital education and support the Philippines’ efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.
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