PLDT, Smart fete N. Luzon LGUS with education best practices
FOR promoting and sustaining quality learning amid the pandemic, several local government units (LGUS) in North Luzon were recognized and provided communications aid by PLDT Inc. and wireless subsidiary Smart Communications.
The country’s largest fully integrated telecommunications company recently turned over airtime load to cities and municipalities that successfully implemented education programs for School Year 2020-2021. Awardees, which numbered about 27, were identified by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Synergeia Foundation for the fourth “Seal of Good Education Governance,” for a total of P2.6 million worth of Bizload from PLDT and Smart for this year’s run.
The LGUS of San Manuel in Pangasinan, Tuba in Benguet, Candon and Vigan in Ilocos Sur, as well as Agoo, Bacnotan, San Fernando, and San Gabriel in La Union were among the first batch of recipients. The communication allowance from PLDT and Smart is expected to help LGUS and citizens stay connected, as officials continue to provide quality service to the people.
“We commend LGUS who champion and sustain quality education for citizens,” PLDT First Vice President and Enterprise Revenue Group Head Vic Tria said at the San Gabriel turnover. “Given the shift to...the new normal, the role of LGUS has become more vital in leading education reform in localities.”
The PLDT Enterprise business unit is a major partner of organizations such as the Department of Education (Deped), as well as small to medium-sized businesses that form the backbone of the Philippine economy. Service offerings include enterprise-grade Internet, data networking, voice communication, data centers, as well as solutions for mobility, managed information and communications technology or ICT, and cyber security.
Since 2017 PLDT and Smart have been supporting USAID and Synergeia in recognizing local governments that promote and sustain quality education for their citizens. Criteria used in selecting this year’s “Seal” awardees include a high cohort survival rate, the ratio of current enrollment compared to the previous academic year, a decrease in the number of frustrated and nonreaders, a reinvented Local School Board, and functional School Governing Councils.
Apart from the Synergeia collaboration, PLDT Enterprise has also worked hand-in-hand with Smart and other units across the PLDT group to implement education initiatives. Tria revealed, “These included special data packages and promos with access to education, work, and productivity applications, as well as fundraising activities to help deploy School-in-a-bag portable digital classrooms that have benefited over 80,000 learners nationwide.”
Smart has also whitelisted Deped Commons (https:// commons.deped.gov.ph), the Deped’s online education delivery platform designed as an alternative mode for teaching-learning processes. Through this, Deped Commons’ educational resources for use in various grade levels of curriculum can be accessed by Smart, TNT and Sun subscribers even without data load.