In a bid to strengthen the basic education in the Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs), the Department of Science and Technology-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOST-CAR) through its Provincial Science and Technology Office – Kalinga (PSTO – Kalinga) deployed three (3) more units of the Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated KioskS or STARBOOKS in Pasil, Kalinga on March 02, 2023.

Funded under the “Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) for Pasil 2022” project under the Human Resource Development entry point, Bagtayan Elementary School, Batong Buhay Elementary School, and Dalupa Elementary School were provided with one (1) unit each of the technology.

Through the conducted community needs assessment in 2022, these schools were identified as beneficiaries due to the status of their learning facilities and the number of target users.  These schools join the other two STARBOOKS-equipped schools in Pasil; strategically located at Pasil National High School and Pasil Central School. At present, there are already 341 units of STARBOOKS deployed in the Cordillera Administrative Region; 41 of which were deployed in the province of Kalinga.

Engr. Karl Ian Martinez, Science Research Specialist II, together with Mr. Dejoia Lee Andres, STARBOOKS staff, spearheaded the deployment activity including the conduct of the users training and orientation which was participated by five (5) faculty staff from the schools. Present also in the activity is the S&T coordinator for Pasil, Engr. Marife A. Bintocan.

Participants were oriented on the know-how of the technology for its optimum utilization. Likewise, its mandate and the concept behind this Philippines’ first S&T digital library in a box were discussed including the DOST’s scholarship programs. Subsequently, hands-on training was conducted to capacitate the teachers, particularly in the registration of users and generation of reports.

In areas where access to books and internet connectivity is limited, STARBOOKS, as one of the many inventive technologies of DOST, aims to provide students and teachers, with a better learning and teaching experience, respectively.

Since then, quality education has always been one of the goals of the agency, strategically channeled through its different effective projects and programs focused in the advancement of Science, Technology, and Innovation literacy in the countryside, especially those situated in the GIDAs. With the tagline- “Your access to a wealth of science and technology information right at your fingertips.”, this platform will empower everyJuan with access to modern, interactive, and dynamic resources in just a click.//KIMartinez

DOST-CAR staff award one (1) unit of STARBOOKS to Bagtayan Elementary School