Hill Voice, 21 June 2020:  75% of Indigenous students are unable to take part in classroom broadcasts on Parliamentary Television in the wake of the deadly coronavirus epidemic. This information was given at a virtual discussion meeting titled ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Education in Bangladesh’ on 20 June 2020 Saturday evening.

According to a survey by BRAC, a non-governmental development organization, 56 percent of students from across the country are unable to attend television classes. 75 percent of Indigenous students are not attending parliamentary television classes.

Among madrassa, rural and disabled students, 71 per cent of the students are refrained from participating in television classes. BRAC says they are out of TV class because there is no TV, no electricity or cable.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education, Md. Zakir Hossain, was present as the chief guest at the meeting. Speaking as the chief guest, the state minister said the ministry has taken various initiatives to offset the damage caused by the global pandemic coronavirus.

Various initiatives have been taken to adhere to online and social distance so that students are not harmed. The minister said that after teaching on television and radio, a special helpline number 3336 is being launched this time. It will be launched experimentally this June.

The survey also found that 74 per cent of the 44 per cent students taking part in television classes said the classes were not working for them.

The survey was conducted on 1,938 primary and secondary school students from 16 districts across the country. At present, 31 million students are studying primary and secondary in the country.

Source: janajatirkantho.com