The School Education and Literacy Department has started conducting radio classes for children living in Jharkhand’s remote villages.
The classes are split into morning and evening sessions via mediumwave and FM channels five days a week. While only 10-minute sessions will be taken initially, the duration might be extended depending on the response. School teachers prepare chapter-wise contents in the form of 8-9 minute stories, which are then recorded in Ranchi studios and aired on radio.
It was initially launched in Jamshedpur and Chaibasa and then extended to Ranchi, Daltonganj, Hazaribagh, and Bhagalpur.
“Currently, it is being relayed from six radio stations, out of which five are in Jharkhand while one is at Bhagalpur in Bihar so that Santhal Pargana could also get covered properly. The first episode of the day is aired between 9 to 10 am while the second episode is aired in the evening between 5:30 – 6:30 pm. Different time-slots have been fixed for different stations,” State Programme Officer (Quality Education) at Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC), Abhinav Kumar told New Indian Express.
Also, read: On Weekends, These Inspiring Youths Selflessly Chose To Educate Street And Slum Kids
Subjects like Hindi, English, History, Civics, Geography and some topics of science will be covered in the curriculum. The first episode was based on freedom fighter Birsa Munda which was welcomed by both students as well as the parents. The contents being prepared are aimed at students from Class 1 all the way to Class 12 before they get comfortable in this form of education where the content could be more class-specific.
There has been a two-month agreement with radio stations for the initiative, which will be extended following feedback from students and parents. The teaching community has lauded the initiative, but many of them doubt whether every student will get access to radio sets.
The move came as only 33 percent of 42 lakh students have been connected through WhatsApp for online classes in the state.