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Broadcasts use stories, exercises to engage pupils and teachers
Education through Wind-up Radios
Photo: USAID/Marisol Perez
The Ministry of Education's Olive Masanza celebrates with children from Kachere Primary
School in Ndirande Township, Malawi, the launch of the Tikwere Interactive Radio
Instruction.
Co-produced by USAID, Tikwere Interactive Radio Instruction, a daily 30-minute educational broadcast, is anticipated to reach 850,000 children and 8,000 teachers in Malawi.
Children in Malawi have an opportunity to expand their education via radio through the Tikwere Interactive Radio Instruction, developed in partnership with USAID, the Malawi College of Distance Education, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The radio broadcasts are part of an effort to improve educational quality and teaching practices in support of the country’s national Primary Curriculum and Assessment Reform (PCAR).
The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation has been broadcasting education radio programs twice daily directly into Standard 1 primary (Grade 1) classrooms, with broadcasts for Standards 2 and 3 (Grades 2 and 3) planned. Tikwere is anticipated to reach 850,000 children and 8,000 teachers.
The 30-minute broadcasts include stories, activities, and exercises that require both pupils and teachers to participate. Intermittent pauses actively engage pupils in the learning process and the instructional design ensures that the subject matter is organized and well-taught. Programs are segmented and educational skills are distributed across a year’s curriculum.
The educational lessons have been developed and produced at the refurbished Malawi College of Distance Education studio. All Ministry of Education officials, teachers and teacher supervisors have been sensitized and trained in radio instruction, and 10,000 wind-up radios have been distributed to primary schools nationwide.
The deputy minister of education in charge of basic education, Olive Masanza, said, “This project contributes to the development and rollout of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s new PCAR through nationwide interactive radio instruction, in conjunction with improved teaching methodologies integrated with the new curriculum reform and new PCAR curriculum adapted for radio instruction. Interactive Radio Instruction has proved to be a very effective education tool worldwide.”
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