PLDT, Smart vow closer collaboration with DepEd for a 'MATATAG na Bayan'

Leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) reiterate their commitment to help the Department of Education (DepEd) build a ‘Matatag na Bayan’ by improving the country’s learning system.

“As long-standing partners of the DepEd, PLDT and Smart have been supporting the agency’s thrust to provide young Filipinos with quality inclusive education through technology-enabled solutions that ensure no learner is left behind,” said Stephanie Orlino, AVP and Head of Stakeholder Management at PLDT and Smart.

The DepEd recently gathered partners and stakeholders to present areas of collaboration that aim to overcome the country’s basic education woes. Under the ‘MATATAG’ agenda, the DepEd aims to improve the curriculum to produce competent and job-ready citizens, build more resilient schools and classrooms, champion inclusive education programs, and support teachers and their professional development.

PLDT and Smart have been complementing the DepEd’s teaching strategy with their own education initiatives.

Stephanie Orlino, AVP and Head of Stakeholder Management at PLDT and Smart, signs on the pledge board on behalf of the PLDT Group

Developed by Ramon Magsaysay awardees Dr. Christopher Bernido and the late Dr. Maria Victoria Bernido, the crisis-resilient Central Visayan Institute Foundation Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF DLP) has trained around 30 volunteer teachers from the Ateneo De Davao University in the first quarter of the year. They will be deployed to madaris across the Bangsamoro region as part of the institution’s Madaris Volunteer Program. Madaris generally refer to Muslim private schools with core emphasis on Islamic studies.

PLDT and Smart also deployed four School-in-a-Bag packages in the same region during the first three months of the year. The portable digital classroom contains a laptop, a Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi, and tablets pre-loaded with #LearnSmart applications and content.

Now on its third season, Innovation Generation empowers the tech-savvy youth to create technology-based solutions that create a positive impact on their communities. This year, nearly a hundred teams qualified for the program that included learning sessions and mentorships from Filipino startup mavericks. The groups who will be able to present their prototypes in the Demo Day will receive technology and financial grants from PLDT and Smart.

The PLDT Group’s technology-enabled education programs empower and build bridges of collaboration across sectors and communities towards a sustainable future. The Group creates and supports various educational initiatives in line with its commitment to helping the nation achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals No. 4: Quality Education.