Nearly 100 remote schools in Southern Leyte are set to benefit from portable digital classrooms following the latest deployment of School-in-a-Bag (SIAB) packages through 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 initiative brings interactive, technology-powered learning tools to 97 multigrade schools in hard-to-reach communities across the province, helping students improve literacy and numeracy while providing teachers with additional classroom support.
The deployment marks UNICEF’s fourth and largest SIAB rollout to date, reinforcing its commitment to expanding access to quality education for children in underserved communities.
“Our mandate is to ensure that every child has equal access to quality education, especially those who are in the most marginalized communities,” said Jieun Yoon, Education Specialist at UNICEF Philippines. “We hope this support will help drive meaningful changes in classrooms. These devices are not meant to add to teachers’ burden, but to help ease their workload and improve the overall teaching and learning experience for both teachers and students.”
Since 2019, UNICEF and the PLDT Group have deployed more than 300 School-in-a-Bag kits to last-mile schools across the country, supporting learners in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. The program aims to bridge educational gaps by bringing digital learning resources closer to students regardless of their location.
“With the School-in-a-Bag, we aim to ensure that high-quality digital tools are within children’s reach. We are grateful to have worked with UNICEF in reaching more remote schools in the region and bringing these portable digital classrooms directly to our learners,” said Roby A. Alampay, First Vice President and Head of the Public Engagement and Corporate Communications Group at PLDT and Smart.
Among this year’s beneficiaries is Benit Elementary School in Malitbog, Southern Leyte, located about 38 kilometers from Maasin City. The school serves multigrade classes, where a single teacher often handles students from different grade levels simultaneously.
“We are truly thankful to receive the SIAB funded by UNICEF. This is a big blessing for our learners, especially in multigrade classes where one teacher supports many students at once. With or without internet connectivity, teaching and learning can continue seamlessly because the kit also works offline,” said Merry Ann B. Tagon, teacher-in-charge of Benit Elementary School.
Each School-in-a-Bag package functions as a portable digital classroom equipped with a laptop, ten tablets, a Smart Bro LTE Pocket WiFi device with allocated data, a comprehensive teacher’s guide, and a collection of offline digital learning resources. These include contextualized Learning Activity Sheets and #LearnSmart educational applications designed to strengthen literacy and numeracy skills using learners’ mother tongue.
The initiative forms part of PLDT and Smart’s #KonektedForLearning program, which seeks to narrow the country’s digital divide by expanding access to technology-enabled education. It also supports the Philippines’ efforts toward achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) by providing learners in remote communities with the tools needed for continuous and inclusive learning.
