A Bulawayo based bookshop, Dingani Bookshop and Stationery, has come up with an innovative idea to teach secondary and high school pupils from the comfort of their homes amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
The online classes, which will be conducted by Umthombo Wolwazi TV, will commence on 6 May and will focus on educational programming, which will enable learners to proceed with their curriculum.
Dingani Bookshop and Stationery proprietor, Witness Dingani said as a trial run, they will start with “A” level Heritage Studies.
“We’ll be launching the online TV channel in the coming weeks and the pre-recorded programmes will be broadcast live on our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube pages.
“We came up with this initiative to keep the learners on track by educating them from the comfort of their homes,” said Dingani.
This comes handy as school prematurely closed due to the lockdown and there is a uncertainty over when they will reopen.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa will likely address the nation this week at the expiry of the 14-day extension which were a successor to the initial 21 days as the government moves to try and control the spread of the virus.
Dingani said they intend to make the online classes as interactive as possible so as to capture the audience of the students.
“During this programme, there’ll be educators who’ll teach in a manner which will motivate everyone, including teachers. People like Pathisa Nyathi and other heritage experts will be featured.”
“Learners will also be able to download worksheets and information sheets to work on with the online channels of expert teachers.”
The program will start with Heritage Studies, which Dingani said is a new course which, at the moment, does not have textbooks hence it will be beneficial if the students get as much information as possible form the online classes.