School lessons to begin via media outlets next week

KABUL (Agencies): Education officials saying online and virtual educational programs to begin next week and is planned for the lockdown period.

Meanwhile President Ghani had earlier said that the schools’ bell will be rung online next week and classes will officially be thought through the media.

Due to the lockdown and restrictions to help prevent the Coronavirus outbreak, the entire educational institutions of Afghanistan have been shut. In the meantime, the Ministry of Education has been working on the remote or online education system to be delivered via media. As a result, the science subjects will be taught via television networks and social subjects will be taught via radio stations in a properly scheduled manner.

The ministry of education says that through the system in hand, students across the country will be able to solve 60% to 70% of their problems by watching TV and listening to the radio on schedule.

Nooria Nazhat, the spokeswoman of the ministry of education, says “Official broadcasts haven’t been started nor we have had any trial broadcasts in the media. Some of the private media networks have pledged to support. Both, our official and trial broadcasts, will start next week right after the president’s call for schools.”

However, some of the private universities have already started teaching online, the ministry of higher education’s plans seems to be more comprehensive.

The ministry of higher education says that they are working on a single system that includes all the lists of the private and the service universities as well as teachers and students across the country, and specific materials will be attached for teaching and learning.

Aziz Ahmad Oriakhill, head of the information, publication and public relations of the ministry of higher education, says that the MHE has been working on a single online system (an application) and it will be configured in a week’s time, noting that the application will contain certain options and registries including the list of the tutors and learners.

Students have found the private university’s online lessons very expensive because of the kind of applications that the universities are using, but the ministry of higher education aims to provide students and teachers with free/low-cost services.

Also, it is very likely that the ongoing situation will escalate and the lockdown will be taken more seriously, therefore, the ministry of higher education aims to keep students busy with their lessons at home and, the students should also take this as an opportunity.