Students in some of Southern Leyte's most remote schools now have access to digital learning tools through the latest rollout of the School-in-a-Bag (SIAB) program.

A total of 97 multigrade schools across the province received SIAB kits under a partnership among the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), PLDT Inc., Smart Communications, the Department of Education Region 8, and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). The deployment is UNICEF's largest under the program so far.

The initiative builds on a partnership that began in 2019, with UNICEF and the PLDT Group bringing more than 300 School-in-a-Bag units to last-mile schools nationwide.

"Our mandate is to ensure that every child has equal access to quality education, especially those in the most marginalized communities," said Jieun Yoon, Education Specialist at UNICEF Philippines. "We hope these devices help improve classroom learning while easing some of the workload of teachers."

One of the recipient schools is Benit Elementary School in Malitbog, about 38 kilometers from Maasin City. Like many schools in the province, it runs multigrade classes, where one teacher often handles students from several grade levels at the same time.

Teacher-in-charge Merry Ann B. Tagon said the equipment will make a noticeable difference in daily classroom instruction.

"This is a big blessing for our learners, especially in multigrade classes where one teacher supports many students at once," she said. "The fact that the materials can be used even without an internet connection means teaching and learning can continue without interruption."

Each School-in-a-Bag functions as a portable digital classroom. The kits include a laptop, ten tablets, a Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi with load allocation, a teacher's guide, and digital learning resources such as contextualized Learning Activity Sheets and #LearnSmart applications that help develop literacy and numeracy skills in learners' mother tongue.

Roby A. Alampay, first vice president and head of the Public Engagement and Corporate Communications Group at PLDT and Smart, said the goal is to make digital learning resources available to students regardless of where they live.

"We're grateful to work with UNICEF in reaching more remote schools and bringing these portable digital classrooms directly to learners," he said.

The rollout forms part of the PLDT Group's #KonektedForLearning program, which supports efforts to improve access to education through technology. For schools in geographically isolated communities, programs like School-in-a-Bag help bridge gaps in learning by providing digital resources that can be used even in areas with limited or no internet connectivity.

 

➤ SEE: PLDT INNOLAB