Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) became part of the Kapamilya network after it was placed under the wing of ABS-CBN in 2013; this paved the way for the Knowledge Channel’s inclusion in ABS-CBN TVplus, making it one of the go-to educational channels for households with a “mahiwagang black box.”
Prior to the move, the mother ship of KCFI was SKYcable Corporation, thus its original name when it was established in June 1999—SKY Foundation.
Other KFCI highlights over the past 16 years:
Public school students are introduced to an exciting new way of learning as the K Channel goes on air five in November 1999.
In 2001, the K Channel unveils two original series: “Kasaysayan TV,” for high school freshmen which tackles history and national issues, and “Pamana,” which focuses on Philippine geography for students in the grades.
In 2002, the students of Buhisan Elementary School in Cebu enjoy the first rural area satellite connection of the K Channel.
A year later, SKY Foundation’s name is changed in order to reflect the K Channel brand, the foundation’s flagship project.
In 2004, the K Channel schools host members of the Global Philanthropists Circle, who are in the country for a learning visit. That same year, the foundation raises more than P8 million through Text Mo, Pangarap Ko and Lakad Mo, Pangarap Ko; the funds from the former go towards connecting five schools to the K Channel, benefiting 6,006 students.
Television Education for the Advancement of Muslim Mindanao, or TEAM Mindanao, in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao marks the foundation’s entry into the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, in 2005. The program later wins in the Public Responsibility category of the Lopez Achievement Awards.
Meanwhile, Lakad Mo, Pangarap Ko 2: Nationwide Na ‘To! attracts more than 8,000 participants from Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao. The fundraising effort is conferred an Anvil Award of Merit by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines as well as a Gold Quill Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators-Philippines.
At the 2006 UN Annual Department of Public Information Nongovernmental Organizations conference in New York, president Rina Lopez Bautista delivers a talk on KCFI’s experience in using science and technology for education.
Bautista also receives the Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan from the Ateneo de Manila University in recognition of the cable-and-satellite education television initiatives of the foundation that year.
In 2007, the K Channel program lineup is beefed up with the introduction of “Negosyo Ko, Asenso Ko,” which tackles production and business skills, and the “Salam” miniseries on peace education, which receives the Anak TV Seal from the Southeast Asian Foundation for Children and Television.
Oscar M. Lopez (OML), is commended by former US Pres. Bill Clinton as a pioneering distance learning program during the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative meet in Hong Kong.
KCFI, represented by Bautista and chairmanBautista is recognized by her alma mater’s De La Salle Alumni Association with the La Sallian Achievement Award for Distance Learning also in 2008.
The year 2009 becomes the year of transmedia as well as of the Take a Step campaign, marking KCFI’s successful and eventful first decade.
In Lead the Change: An Evening of Discussion for Action in 2010, Bautista facilitates the meeting of Pres. Benigno Aquino III with representatives of international civil society organizations, Peggy Dulany Rockefeller and OML.
Aside from submitting to Pres. Aquino its four-point initiative as a public-private partnership offering for education, KCFI also launches its Out-of School Youth and Mature Learners Alternative Learning Institute, or OMLALI, alternative learning project.
This is followed by the launch of KCh On-Demand for the Alternative Learning System or ALS, and the turnover of new episodes of “K-High” to the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2011.
In 2012, three major programs are introduced: Learning Effectively through Enhanced Pedagogies (LEEP), KCh On- Demand for K-12, and the Superintendents’ Leadership Program (SLP) for education leaders.
LEEP is officially launched in early 2014 at the DepEd’s Pasig headquarters, while the SLP is now a requirement for all superintendents and assistant superintendents per a DepEd directive.