PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) have delivered their innovative learning package School-in-a-Bag (SIAB) to Apo Elementary School in Apo Island, Negros Oriental, one of the Philippines’ last mile schools.
Located 7 kilometers off the southeastern tip of Negros Oriental, the SIAB navigated challenging waters to reach Apo Island to give students and teachers access to digital tools and innovative educational content.
“As a technology company, we believe that we are among the key players in closing the digital divide, especially in education. Through our SIAB program, we are ensuring that children in remote communities like Apo Island will have access to the same digital learning tools as their counterparts in urban areas,” said Marylou Gocotano, Visayas Relations Head of PLDT and Smart Stakeholder Management Team.
The learning package included a laptop, tablets, Smart LTE pocket WiFi devices with load allocation, and pre-downloaded learning materials such as contextualized Learning Activity Sheets (LAS) and 10 #LearnSmart apps that teach literacy and numeracy in various local languages.
“Thank you Smart for choosing Apo Elementary School as a beneficiary of SIAB. This will augment the learning journey of both our teachers and learners, especially with the readily available gadgets and learning materials,” said Anna Lyn Abella, School Head of Apo Elementary School. “The SIAB will also prove useful whenever there is an unexpected suspension of in-person classes due to disasters or calamities,” she added.
Since its launch, PLDT and Smart have deployed more than 650 SIABs across the country, benefitting thousands of students and teachers in far-flung areas, and has supported asynchronous learning.
This highlights the PLDT Group’s #NoLearnerLeftBehind advocacy and is part of its wider commitment to help the Philippines achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG no. 4 on Quality Education.
