Rwanda: When the radio becomes a classroom

Ö1 shipment notice

An article in Current knowledge on November 20th at 13.55

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Aside from these acute supply crises, the CoV pandemic would also have a long-term impact on children and young people. After all, around 570 million children are currently affected by school closings across the country.

Distance Learning via Radio

One country that has at least succeeded in giving children access to education even when schools are closed is Rwanda. Schools in Rwanda were closed for more than seven months. They were gradually reopened at the beginning of November. Strict regulations still apply: the number of students per class is limited, a fever is measured and the children have to wear masks.

When schools were closed, attempts were made to teach children about the radio. “In Rwanda, radio is very popular and widespread,” explains Julianna Lindsey from UNICEF Rwanda. “The public service broadcaster, Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, reaches almost 99 percent of the population.” This range makes radio in Rwanda the ideal medium for “distance learning”.

Radio instead of classroom

The switch from the classroom to the radio was achieved within two weeks. At first, radio lessons from other countries were used and these were adapted for Rwanda together with public broadcasters, says the UNICEF country representative. Later you have together with „Inspire, Education and Empower“, an NGO from the education sector, designed its own learning units. Learning units were created for the first to fourth grade elementary school – and also for preschool children.

“We tried to make the teaching units interactive and to involve the students in the lessons as much as possible,” says Julianna Lindsey. For example, the children were asked over the radio to spell newly learned words or to write them down. If the children had any questions, they could ask them during the class on a specially set up, free hotline. Teaching was alongside Kinyarwanda, one of the official languages ​​of Rwanda, math and English.

As of August, more than half of the students in Rwanda had taken part in radio lessons, reports Julianna Lindsey. In addition to the radio, there were also offers on television and on a specially set up Online learning platform. The television lessons were translated into sign language to ensure that deaf children also have access to education.

“We are very satisfied that we have succeeded in providing education to so many children even during the corona pandemic,” said the UNICEF country representative. Education is very important for the development of children – and also for the further development of the country. Almost half of the population in Rwanda is under the age of 18.

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