BENGALURU: The department of public instruction is planning to launch radio programmes for government school children in classes 1-3. While students from classes 5-10 are occupied with TV classes, those in lower grades are not engaged through any sort of virtual class.
“Initial rounds of discussions are on,” confirmed Anbu Kumar, commissioner for public instruction. “It’s not advisable to have TV classes for the lower sections due to the strain it may have on the eye. We therefore decided against any TV programmes. We had broadcast a small programme through All India Radio on Children’s Day. We plan to expand on it.”
The department of state education research and training (DSERT) will plan the content and it is in the process of identifying resource people.
“Unlike TV, radio programmes do not offer visuals and therefore preparing scripts requires more effort to make it effective,” said MR Maruti, director, DSERT. “Resource persons will also identify lessons from the Nali-Kali scheme that can be converted to radio programmes. While the reach of television is huge, Aakashavani says the reach of radio too is as wide. It can even be accessed on low-cost mobile phones.”
The expert committee, that had submitted a report on continuity of learning in the state amidst the pandemic, had suggested a combination of TV and radio, along with other mediums to impart lesson.
While TV classes were launched for high school students, sources say it took time to extend it to lower classes as there was no time slot available. Also, the department had challenges with other logistics like lack of studios.
“Karnataka has a history of interactive radio instruction (IRI) when it was launched in Chamarajanagar, Raichur and Kalaburagi in 2005 as a pilot,” said Maya Menon, founder director, Teacher Foundation. “There were some positive outcomes too. However, IRI was not leveraged much, even when teachers were in classrooms for interactive sessions based on radio lessons. Radio can be a great platform and it has been used globally to reach geographically remote locations. However I feel it’s rather late in the day for the government to launch it now. It should have been considered eight months ago when the schools went first into the lockdown. It’s important to devise ways in which lesson can be imparted instead of just tinkering with approaches.”