More students across the country will be able to attend classes via television and the internet as SKY partners with the government in strengthening the Department of Education’s distance education program amid the pandemic.   

SKY signed memorandum of agreements (MOA) with key DepEd Divisions in regional areas, giving schools in Baguio, Laoag, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, General Santos, and Zamboanga access to DepEd TV shows on cable.   

Under the agreement, SKY will give DepEd TV a dedicated channel, which will air lessons per week, covering the most essential learning competencies prescribed by the government.  

Meanwhile, in a separate MOA with the DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones and the Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar, SKY has committed to providing 32 DepEd priority schools nationwide a SKY Fiber connection, giving them access to the DepEd classes online.   

DepEd aims to present lecture classes, courtesy of carefully selected broadcaster-teachers in the country. Teachers underwent a series of training on how to deliver interactive class episodes for students. Helping DepEd in training the educators are a number of renowned broadcasters of major local networks, among which are ABS-CBN’s Karen Davila, Kim Atienza, Jaque Manabat, Abner Mercado, and Korina Sanchez.    

"We are here in support of the vision set out by the secretary that education must continue," SKYcable president and COO Antonio Ventosa said during the signing ceremony.   

Ventosa also thanked the DepEd for the opportunity saying “SKYcable is here to support the project, provide access to as many homes and students as possible via cable and our Wi-Fi facilities. We’re here to partner with you.”    

SKY has been an advocate of education since 1996 with the creation of the SKY Foundation, which later on evolved into the Knowledge Channel Foundation. It gave public elementary schools access to videos acquired from the United States, Canada, and Europe, and soon produced more materials based on the K-12 curriculum of the Department of Education. Through this, 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 amid the pandemic as it launched the “School at Home” Campaign.

On August 24, Knowledge Channel started airing week 1 lessons in Filipino, Math, Science, English, and Araling Panlipunan for the First Quarter from Kinder to Grade 10 and the Alternative Learning System, allowing children to start learning ahead of the opening of classes. As the school year began last October 5, Knowledge Channel has been airing the same video lessons for week 1 of the First Quarter. 

For more news and updates, visit SKYcable’s official website, mysky.com.ph.