Primary education thru’ radio set for launch tomorrow

The government is set to broadcast lessons for primary students through radio to reach the maximum number of children  during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It started television education through Sangsad TV on April 7, so primary students can make up for losses due to closure of educational institutions.

Many guardians said it was only partially fulfilling the objective, as about a half of the country's people -- many of them underprivileged -- do not have access to TV sets.

A recent survey of primary and mass education ministry shows that almost 60 percent of households that have primary school going children do not have TV sets.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey-2019 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed that 50 percent of households do not have television sets.

"We had launched TV education but many cannot avail this service, so we are now going to start education through radio. We will broadcast lessons from Wednesday," Akram-Al-Hossain, primary and mass education senior secretary, told The Daily Star yesterday.

He added that Bangladesh Betar and community radio channels will broadcast the one-hour lessons from 4:05pm every Sunday through Thursday.

During that hour, they will air 10-minute sessions for first to fifth grade students, and children will be informed about routine.

He claimed Bangladesh is the first country in Asia-pacific to introduce education through radio.

"We are introducing radio education considering the issue of inclusiveness and reaching all children," he said.

"We conduct some online education through social media sites. Teachers are giving lessons through phones. So, we can assume that around 76 percent of primary students are engaged with teachers," he continued.

"Using radio will bring more students under the coverage, as 95 percent of the population have either smartphones or feature phones. They can easily access radio and arrange for education," Akram said.

Directorate of Primary Education yesterday, through an order, said one can listen to the radio by just connecting an earphone to their feature phone. It urged all to download radio apps or Bangladesh Betar app from Google Play Store.

It also asked all upazila primary education officers to inform people about the government's initiatives.

All educational institutions have remained closed since March 17, and the closure was stretched to August 31 to stem coronavirus transmission. As a result, educational activities of about 1.3 crore primary students are being hampered.

On April 27, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said all educational institutions may stay closed until September if the situation does not improve.

 The government is set to broadcast lessons for primary students through radio to reach the maximum number of children  during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It started television education through Sangsad TV on April 7, so primary students can make up for losses due to closure of educational institutions.

Many guardians said it was only partially fulfilling the objective, as about a half of the country's people -- many of them underprivileged -- do not have access to TV sets.

A recent survey of primary and mass education ministry shows that almost 60 percent of households that have primary school going children do not have TV sets.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey-2019 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed that 50 percent of households do not have television sets.

"We had launched TV education but many cannot avail this service, so we are now going to start education through radio. We will broadcast lessons from Wednesday," Akram-Al-Hossain, primary and mass education senior secretary, told The Daily Star yesterday.

He added that Bangladesh Betar and community radio channels will broadcast the one-hour lessons from 4:05pm every Sunday through Thursday.

During that hour, they will air 10-minute sessions for first to fifth grade students, and children will be informed about routine.

He claimed Bangladesh is the first country in Asia-pacific to introduce education through radio.

"We are introducing radio education considering the issue of inclusiveness and reaching all children," he said.

"We conduct some online education through social media sites. Teachers are giving lessons through phones. So, we can assume that around 76 percent of primary students are engaged with teachers," he continued.

"Using radio will bring more students under the coverage, as 95 percent of the population have either smartphones or feature phones. They can easily access radio and arrange for education," Akram said.

Directorate of Primary Education yesterday, through an order, said one can listen to the radio by just connecting an earphone to their feature phone. It urged all to download radio apps or Bangladesh Betar app from Google Play Store.

It also asked all upazila primary education officers to inform people about the government's initiatives.

All educational institutions have remained closed since March 17, and the closure was stretched to August 31 to stem coronavirus transmission. As a result, educational activities of about 1.3 crore primary students are being hampered.

On April 27, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said all educational institutions may stay closed until September if the situation does not improve.