The United Kingdom (UK) government in conjunction with UNICEF has procured 1500 solar radio sets to promote access to radio lessons in remote areas by secondary school students in disadvantaged communities.
Speaking during the handover ceremony earlier today, UNICEF Representative, Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale said they have been supporting various alternative and blended learning arrangements put in place by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to ensure that children continue accessing some education during the COVID-19 induced lockdowns.
“The radios are equipped with a USB port which enables students to learn through pre-recorded lessons and offline playback of digital files. Taking advantage of this specification, the procurement of 1500 memory sticks uploaded with pre-recorded lessons that were developed and aired on the radio is also in progress. The solar radio sets will be distributed with the memory sticks to 1500 secondary schools across the country, benefitting a total of about 400,00 learners,” said Oyewale.
United Kingdom(UK) government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has invested over £110m (USD$134m) in Zimbabwe over the last decade.
Meanwhile, the government yesterday said it had connected more than 400 schools to the internet.
Speaking during a post-Cabinet briefing, Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said this was part of the government’s ongoing project to accelerate the national e-learning strategy.
“Four hundred schools from all the provinces across the country were connected to the internet. This is part of an ongoing program to accelerate the implementation of the national e-learning strategy,” she said.
The connection of schools to the internet is part of the 1 688 projects that were implemented during the period January to December 2021.
