Knowledge channel
Using its core competencies in satellite broadcasting and cable television, Rina Lopez Bautista and other members of the Lopez Group of Companies, a major Filipino business conglomerate, established the Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI and formerly Sky Foundation, Inc.) in response to the urgent need to improve the quality of basic public education in the Philippines.
The Channel is a private effort meant to create an impact on the public educational system by beaming Department of Education-approved curriculum-based programs at no cost to public schools. KCFI, a non-stock, non-profit corporation founded in 1999; operates the Channel. Its seed capital in the amount of Php 55M ($1M) was provided by several member companies of the Lopez Group. The amount enabled the acquisition of production equipment, purchase of programs from abroad and other capital expenditures to start up Foundation.
At present, Knowledge Channel can be seen in 54 provinces and is available at no cost to more than 2.7 million elementary and high school students from 1,601 public schools nationwide. Public schools receive the channel in one of two ways: through cabling where cable operators are present or through the installation of satellite dishes for schools located in remote inaccessible areas.
Free access to the Channel was and is being made possible by donations, sponsorships and various fund-raising activities. The Knowledge Channel is composed of 14 hours of curriculum-based programs covering all elementary and high school subjects and 4 hours of adult educational programs beamed nationwide daily via Pan Am Satellite 8. A 10-year Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Education stipulates the mandatory viewing of Knowledge Channel (KCh) in public schools where the Channel is present.