As part of its 25th anniversary in the Philippines, enterprise application software maker SAP has donated a $25,000 grant to support the Batang Bayani Life Skills Program of Teach for the Philippines (TFP), a non-profit organization working in the education sector.
The Batang Bayani Life Skills Program is skills development program that builds student capabilities and parents’ capacities to support their children’s education.
Students will undergo sessions on a range of topics, including stress management, building good study habits, communication, responsible use of technology, and social awareness. On the other hand, parents will also receive complimentary sessions that include stress management, empathy, and active listening.
With public school student households varying in context amid the ongoing pandemic, TFP has adapted the program to be delivered in a modality that works best for both the students and their parents.
The current pandemic adversely affected more than 27 million learners in the Philippines, many of whom live in areas with poor connectivity and minimal access to technology. The need to support the teachers’ development in contextualizing and navigating the digital landscape is crucial to ensuring learning continuity amid the current situation.
The grant will aid the program’s training for 100 educators, composed of parents, guardians, and co-teachers. It will also help in the student development curriculum implementation for around 300 public school students. The program’s implementation will coincide with the academic year 2021-2022, as announced by the Department of Education (DepEd).
Clarissa Delgado, CEO of Teach for the Philippines, commented: “At Teach for the Philippines, we believe that all Filipino children deserve a sense of possibility and have the right to an education without compromise. Our collaboration with SAP Philippines enables us to reach both public school students and their parents.
“Our collaboration with families ensures that our students grow up to become responsible citizens who can articulate their goals, understand the path to attaining them, and thereby be in charge of their own life trajectories. Amid the ever-changing education context both locally and globally, we are grateful to be working alongside a strong champion of education like SAP Philippines. SAP Philippines trusts not just in the work that Teach for the Philippines does but also believes in the potential of Filipino public school students to shape our country’s future.”
Among SAP’s education projects include University Alliance, a global program integrating the latest SAP technologies into the educational curricula. Currently, it has 15 member universities in the Philippines.
SAP also collaborated with the ASEAN Foundation to run a flagship program, ASEAN Data Science Explorers (ASEAN DSE). This initiative has educated more than 16,000 young people across 370 institutions of higher learning in the 10 ASEAN countries to increase their digital literacy, particularly in using SAP Analytics Cloud and has helped cultivate a greater sense of responsibility and ownership of the region’s future. In the Philippines, the initiative has trained 5,561 students and lecturers across 87 Institutes of Higher Learning.
SAP first started its operations in the country in the year 1995. From just ten employees, the company now has over 2,000 employees across four offices in the country. In 2020, the Top Employers Institute recognized SAP as the 2020 Top Employer for three consecutive years for empowering best people practices and exceptional work environment.
“SAP has always been dedicated to helping the world run better. We see it as our duty to go beyond boundaries to help create a better world and a brighter future. We will remain committed not only to helping businesses transform into intelligent enterprises with solutions like Rise with SAP but also to support programs that will shape tomorrow’s leaders,” said Edler Panlilio, managing director of SAP Philippines.
