News / National
Govt avails 200 000 radios to rural pupils
19 Jul 2021 at 06:41hrs | Views
GOVERNMENT has distributed more than 200 000 radios to rural communities to ensure that children continue to learn as schools remain closed due to Covid-19.
The closure of schools following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic last year exposed challenges faced by rural pupils who could not access online learning. This has been blamed for the rural pupils' poor performance in public examinations last year. When schools closed for the better part of last year, pupils, especially exam classes, had to resort to online learning which most rural pupils could not access.
Government then decided to give rural communities radios so that pupils could access radio lessons.
In an interview, the director of communications and advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Mr Taungana Ndoro said 200 000 radios have been distributed to communities in rural areas to enable pupils in rural areas to access radio lessons.
"More than 200 000 radios have been distributed to enable rural pupils to access radio lessons " he said.
Mr Ndoro said they have been targeting those communities where most of the families had no radios and the Government is being assisted by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to roll out the programme.
"We are being assisted by one of the development partners UNICEF and the radios allow learners to access news and radio lessons," said Mr Ndoro.
Recently, the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Edgar Moyo said the Covid-19 pandemic disturbed and disrupted teaching and learning at a magnitude that was never experienced before. He said radios will go a long way in mitigating access to learning challenges faced by pupils from disadvantaged communities.
"Radio, besides being a vehicle that develops learners through auditory senses, also develops learners' knowledge, skills and attitudes. Radio also develops the learner's perception of the world around him or her by stimulating the mind to the imagination. With imagination, learners are then also exposed to the 21st century skills of critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration and problem solving," he said.
Deputy Minister Moyo said the Ministry was leaving no child behind in an attempt to provide education for all hence the radios for rural pupils.
The closure of schools following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic last year exposed challenges faced by rural pupils who could not access online learning. This has been blamed for the rural pupils' poor performance in public examinations last year. When schools closed for the better part of last year, pupils, especially exam classes, had to resort to online learning which most rural pupils could not access.
Government then decided to give rural communities radios so that pupils could access radio lessons.
In an interview, the director of communications and advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Mr Taungana Ndoro said 200 000 radios have been distributed to communities in rural areas to enable pupils in rural areas to access radio lessons.
"More than 200 000 radios have been distributed to enable rural pupils to access radio lessons " he said.
"We are being assisted by one of the development partners UNICEF and the radios allow learners to access news and radio lessons," said Mr Ndoro.
Recently, the Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Edgar Moyo said the Covid-19 pandemic disturbed and disrupted teaching and learning at a magnitude that was never experienced before. He said radios will go a long way in mitigating access to learning challenges faced by pupils from disadvantaged communities.
"Radio, besides being a vehicle that develops learners through auditory senses, also develops learners' knowledge, skills and attitudes. Radio also develops the learner's perception of the world around him or her by stimulating the mind to the imagination. With imagination, learners are then also exposed to the 21st century skills of critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration and problem solving," he said.
Deputy Minister Moyo said the Ministry was leaving no child behind in an attempt to provide education for all hence the radios for rural pupils.
Source - chronicle
