The authorities of the Federal Ministry of Education have met with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria to fashion out modalities for the take-off of the nationwide school radio and television broadcast as a result of the closure of schools due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The ministry told our correspondent on Friday that the school teaching classes on air would follow a timetable which was already being worked on as well as the possibility of writing an examination after taking the lessons.
It was gathered that the school broadcast classes could commence by May if the modalities for getting operational licences and the purchase of transmitters were tidied up by the education ministry, the FRCN, the Nigerian Television Authority and the National Broadcasting Commission in April.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had stated on Tuesday during the daily COVID-19 Presidential Task Force briefing in Abuja, that the Federal Government was going to commence the basic primary school classes on the national media to enable pupils learn during the COVID-19 pandemic break.
Adamu had said the government planned to sustain the audio-visual classes, even after the coronavirus pandemic break.
It was learnt on Friday that the minister had met with the FRCN authorities and the issuance of licence by the NBC was also underway.
The Director of Press at the ministry, Mr Ben Goong, said in an exclusive interview that a timetable would be drafted as well as the possibility of writing an examination after the nationwide audio-visual classes.
Goong said, “We are taking the next step between Friday and Tuesday. There will be a radio component and a television component. We plan to create a different network on the FRCN so that we don’t break into the established listening schedules.
“The broadcast will run from morning to night, covering all subjects such as Mathematics and English. We will segment the programmes into classes. What we plan is to bring the best hands from our schools to take the subjects. We will use the best in specific subjects. The issue of inability to deliver well will not arise.
“Two, the broadcast will be uniform. What is being taught in Jigawa, Sokoto will be watched in Lagos. There will be series of subjects in a day for different classes. There will be nothing like, our teachers didn’t come to school today.
“When it is time for exams, you register in the centre nearest to you and you write your exams, class by class. It will be impossible with these broadcasts for children to still be regarded as out-of-school children. We are likely to bring the request letter formally from the ministry in the coming week to FRCN. Due process must be followed.”
The ministry’s spokesman noted that the broadcasts would eradicate the problem of rising out-of-school children currently put at about 10.2million as well as bridge the gap that was created due to the closure of schools during the pandemic. – Punch.
