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| (Image Source: Manila Bulletin/SKY) |
More students and young learners across the country will be able to attend classes through television and the Internet as SKY officially partners with the national government in strengthening the Department of Education's distance learning program amidst the continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The premiere pay TV operator in the Philippines signed Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) with DepEd Division Offices in key regional areas giving schools in Baguio, Laoag, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, General Santos and Zamboanga access to DepEd TV programs on cable.
Under these agreements, SKY will provide a dedicated channel for DepEd TV which airs lessons every week covering the most essential learning competencies prescribed by the government. On the other hand, in a separate MOA with DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, SKY is committed to provide 32 DepEd priority schools nationwide a SKY Fiber connection, giving them access to the online learning modules available at DepEd Commons. "We are here in support of the vision set out by Secretary Briones that education must continue," said SKY President and COO Antonio Ventosa during the MOA signing ceremony between SKY, DepEd and PCOO who eventually thanked the government for the opportunity.
DepEd aims to present lecture classes courtesy of carefully-selected teacher-broadcasters from different parts of the country who have undergone a series of workshops on how to conduct and deliver interactive class episodes for students at home. Helping the agency in the selection process are a number of renouned broadcasters from major local news organizations and broadcast stations headed by News5 head Luchi Cruz-Valdes and television personality and former broadcast journalist Paolo Bediones. Among them are Karen Davila, Korina Sanchez-Roxas, Kim Atienza, Jacque Manabat, Abner Mercado, Jessica Soho, and Atom Araullo among others. DepEd TV airs every Monday to Saturday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm on IBC 13 (SKYcable channel 15), Solar Learning, and major national and provincial pay TV operators nationwide.
SKY has been an advocate of education since 1996 through the creation of SKY Foundation. It gave public elementary schools across the country access to learning and educational videos acquired from the United States, Canada and Europe. The company later partnered with Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) which produced more educational materials based on the DepEd's K-12 learning curriculum. Through the said partnership, SKY continues to reach households nationwide as it airs the lessons on SKYcable channel 5. Knowledge Channel responded to the call of the government to support distance learning for the new school year amidst the pandemic through its "School At Home" campaign where students from Kinder to Grade 10 and in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) can enjoy watching various video lessons covering different subjects on weekday mornings at 8:00 am on A2Z (free TV channel 11 in Metro Manila and parts of nearby provinces, SKYcable channel 11, Cignal channel 20) and everyday on Knowledge Channel and online via KCH's official website as well as its Facebook and YouTube channels.
