Kalvi TV receives ‘viewer-boom’ since pandemic

CHENNAI:  The exclusive educational channel run by the State government--Kalvi TV has garnered more than two million views and over 46,000 subscribers on YouTube, in a year. After schools were shut due to the pandemic, the State introduced video lessons on the channel for the academic year 2020-21.

The online traffic particularly increased this year after new subjects were introduced, say officials of the school education department. According to an official from the department, lessons for class 9-12 students have garnered more attention. “A major chunk of the students still do not possess smartphones. Yet, the YouTube views have touched 2 million, which we did not anticipate. The views for the TV channel are at least twice of this and in the future, we are also planning to introduce art-based classes.”

This year, classes have also been added for the first and twelfth standard students. Last year, while class 1 was not included at all, class 12 students had recorded video lessons, added the official. Apart from Tamil Nadu, Kalvi TV YouTube channel has viewers in Dubai, Sri Lanka, Singapore and the United States. The videos telecasted on TV are uploaded on YouTube within 24 hours, enabling overseas viewers to access the content.

Students say they are finding it very helpful. “Firstly, video lessons help us understand the subject better than online classes. Even in case we have a doubt, we can watch the content again on YouTube or attend the exclusive doubt-clearing session on Saturday,” said K Praveen, a class 9 student.

The lessons in the channel are telecasted in a 30-minute video format from 5:30 am to 10:30 pm. As many as 34 videos are uploaded daily with lessons in both Tamil and English. Some videos also include sign language.

Bi-lingual classes
All the videos are verified by subject experts before getting aired. Parents also said this has been a huge help as they can view the videos in their free time after finishing their office work. It is said that the bi-lingual classes have been helpful.