News / Local
Govt rolls out fourth phase of radio lessons programme
04 Oct 2021 at 00:51hrs | Views
GOVERNMENT will today roll out the fourth phase of radio lessons programme for early childhood development (ECD), primary and secondary school classes as part of an alternative education platform to maximise on learning following the prolonged closure of schools due to Covid-19.
Three months ago, Government with the assistance of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), distributed more than 200 000 radios to rural communities to ensure that children continued to learn during the closure of schools.
Schools started operating full throttle on 6 September, a week after examination classes resumed face to face lessons.
Learners were last in school on 3 June following a long break as the country battled to contain the spike in Covid-19 infections.
The radio lessons programme is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in partnership with the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Zimpapers, ZBC and Unicef.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said the lessons for Form 2-4 learners will be aired on Star FM from today until 15 October under the fourth schedule of the fourth phase of the programme.
ZBC will air radio lessons for learners from ECD to Form One classes between today and 15 October under the sixth schedule of the fourth phase of the programme.
"The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in conjunction with Star FM, ZBC and Unicef will be rolling out the fourth phase of radio lessons as part of an alternative learning platform," read the statement.
"Lessons for the sixth schedule targeting learners from ECD to Form One, will be aired from 4 October (today) to 15 October. Lessons programme schedule for Form Two to Four classes will be aired from 4 October to 15 October under the fourth schedule of the fourth phase."
The ministry said another schedule will be released upon expiry of the stated radio lessons.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education director of communications and advocacy Mr Taungana Ndoro yesterday said radio lessons will continue to be aired despite the reopening of schools as they have proved to be effective.
"We are continuing with radio lessons because our thrust is to provide quality education for all learners.
We want to make sure that all learners benefit through those lessons so that they can catch up following a long break," he said.
The Education Ministry is working closely with teachers to produce the radio lessons.
"We want to be a middle-income economy by 2030 and the only way to realise that vision is by ensuring that we have provided quality education to everyone," he said.
Mr Ndoro said Government is rolling out the programme as part of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of access to education, particularly targeting poor children in rural areas who have no access to technology and money to buy data bundles.
"These radio lessons will ensure that rural learners and those who are from poor backgrounds are not left behind in terms of access to education in line with the NDS1," he said.
Under the programme, learners in Form Two to Four classes will be taught Geography, History, English, English Literature, IsiNdebele, ChiShona, Commerce and Business Enterprise.
Learners attending ECD to Form One classes will be taught Family and Heritage, Maths and Science, Religious Studies, Agriculture, Geography, Science and Technology, Commerce, History, IsiNdebele, Venda, English, family, religion and moral education (Fareme), ChiShona, Kalanga, Sotho, Ndau, Shangaan, Chewa and Nambya.
The programme was officially launched by the then Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema in June last year at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) Montrose Studios in Bulawayo.
When schools closed for the better of last year, pupils, especially examination classes, had to resort to online learning which most rural pupils could not access. This has been blamed for the rural pupils' poor performance in public examinations last year.
Government then decided to give rural communities radios so that pupils could access radio lessons.
Three months ago, Government with the assistance of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), distributed more than 200 000 radios to rural communities to ensure that children continued to learn during the closure of schools.
Schools started operating full throttle on 6 September, a week after examination classes resumed face to face lessons.
Learners were last in school on 3 June following a long break as the country battled to contain the spike in Covid-19 infections.
The radio lessons programme is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in partnership with the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Zimpapers, ZBC and Unicef.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education said the lessons for Form 2-4 learners will be aired on Star FM from today until 15 October under the fourth schedule of the fourth phase of the programme.
ZBC will air radio lessons for learners from ECD to Form One classes between today and 15 October under the sixth schedule of the fourth phase of the programme.
"The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in conjunction with Star FM, ZBC and Unicef will be rolling out the fourth phase of radio lessons as part of an alternative learning platform," read the statement.
"Lessons for the sixth schedule targeting learners from ECD to Form One, will be aired from 4 October (today) to 15 October. Lessons programme schedule for Form Two to Four classes will be aired from 4 October to 15 October under the fourth schedule of the fourth phase."
The ministry said another schedule will be released upon expiry of the stated radio lessons.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education director of communications and advocacy Mr Taungana Ndoro yesterday said radio lessons will continue to be aired despite the reopening of schools as they have proved to be effective.
"We are continuing with radio lessons because our thrust is to provide quality education for all learners.
We want to make sure that all learners benefit through those lessons so that they can catch up following a long break," he said.
The Education Ministry is working closely with teachers to produce the radio lessons.
"We want to be a middle-income economy by 2030 and the only way to realise that vision is by ensuring that we have provided quality education to everyone," he said.
Mr Ndoro said Government is rolling out the programme as part of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of access to education, particularly targeting poor children in rural areas who have no access to technology and money to buy data bundles.
"These radio lessons will ensure that rural learners and those who are from poor backgrounds are not left behind in terms of access to education in line with the NDS1," he said.
Under the programme, learners in Form Two to Four classes will be taught Geography, History, English, English Literature, IsiNdebele, ChiShona, Commerce and Business Enterprise.
Learners attending ECD to Form One classes will be taught Family and Heritage, Maths and Science, Religious Studies, Agriculture, Geography, Science and Technology, Commerce, History, IsiNdebele, Venda, English, family, religion and moral education (Fareme), ChiShona, Kalanga, Sotho, Ndau, Shangaan, Chewa and Nambya.
The programme was officially launched by the then Primary and Secondary Education Minister Cain Mathema in June last year at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) Montrose Studios in Bulawayo.
When schools closed for the better of last year, pupils, especially examination classes, had to resort to online learning which most rural pupils could not access. This has been blamed for the rural pupils' poor performance in public examinations last year.
Government then decided to give rural communities radios so that pupils could access radio lessons.
Source - The Chronicle
