Victorias first in Visayas to join PDI’s INQskwela
by Carla P. Gomez
Victorias City in Negros Occidental became the first in the Visayas and the fourth in the country to join the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s INQskwela that is geared towards enhancing the quality of basic education through reading comprehension, critical thinking, news literacy and knowledge of current events among students and faculty members.
“And what better way to present it in a very modern fashion through digital subscription service… this is the way moving forward,” Victorias Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez said of the trailblazing move.
Benitez, Councilor Derek Palanca – Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Education chair, Victorias Superintendent of Schools Portia Mallorca, and PDI national sales manager Roy Raul Mendiola signed a memorandum of agreement at the Victorias City Hall on Tuesday, July 6.
Also present was PDI Senior Business Development Officer Akiko Quijano.
Under the MOA students in the 28 public schools of Victorias City will be provided with daily digital access to Inquirer Plus, which includes the digital edition of PDI and more, for one school year.
“We’re very excited about this project… this is a way of improving reading literacy for our learners,” Benitez said, noting that the heads of all the 28 participating schools were present for the event.
Benitez said the program will help students develop their love of reading and knowledge through a digital platform.
The city government has purchased laptops for teachers and tablets for one is to five classroom learners, he said.
Inquirer Plus will be “one of the content that we will use to enhance and improve reading for our learners. I am sure this will have a positive impact and effect on our learners”, Benitez said.
“Once you are digital and you address the attention of our learners I think that is the way to get them engaged and what better way is to have many different content that they can absorb,” he said.
He noted that anything can be posted on social media even if it is not true.
“What is missing in our social media platforms is to have a gatekeeper to facilitate news that is worthy for us to read and that is what INQskwela is doing,” Benitez said.
Mendiola thanked Benitez for sponsoring the Inquirer Plus subscriptions of the 28 schools and for joining INQskwela.
The MOA states that part of the INQskwela program are inter-school quiz and debate tournaments.
“With an easier access to a newspaper, the hope is that students would discover or further develop their love of reading and knowledge in current events. The newspapers will also serve as learning aids for teachers in class as this is incorporated in their lesson plan,” it added.*
