Educational radio, TV programmes being boosted by IDB funding
The Ministry of Education’s Learning Channel and EdYou FM programmes are being boosted by funding from the Inter-American Development Bank for the production of television and radio lessons.
The Ministry of Education is benefiting from funding under Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) project 5180/BL-GY-2; Support to Safety Nets for Vulnerable Populations Affected by Coronavirus in Guyana.
MOE Project Coordinator Patrick John says students from nursery, primary and secondary schools (up to grade nine) will benefit in the areas of Mathematics, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies through 450 radio lessons and 2,950 of television programmes.
“The rationale behind the support we are given to EdYou.FM, and also to the Learning Channel which is another part of the project – is to develop radio lessons based in terms of the school curriculum. That’s in terms of radio lessons, and 2950 television lessons.”
Virtual programmes such as these began as a way to ensure learning continued while children were at home in the early days of the pandemic, and now also serve the purpose of mitigating learning loss.
Through this funding, teachers across Guyana are being trained to prepare scripts for these educational programmes.
John stated that the total funding from the IDB is $15.2 million, and builds capacity across multiple parts of the education sector. This involves provision of textbooks and the procurement of new recording instruments and equipment to boost capacity at the radio station.
“There’s also a component that has to do with improvement of water solutions in schools. That will cover things like the installation of water pumps and sewerage tanks, plumbing and repairs to schools and dorms. There are just going to be minor interventions centered around water and water sanitation.
