Press Releases
USAID Supporting Children’s Interactive Radio Education on Zanzibar
January 26, 2007
Despite progress, many children on Zanzibar do not benefit from schooling due to poverty, disability, distance from school, or lack of early learning experiences that prepare children to succeed in school. To address this situation, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT) and the United States Agency for Development (USAID) are initiating Radio Instruction to Strengthen Education (RISE), designed to increase learning and school participation of disadvantaged children. RISE’s first official event will help guide Zanzibari educators through the process of designing radio programs for use on the Isles. The January 28 opening ceremony for the Radio Education Scriptwriter’s Training Workshop will take place at Mazson’s Hotel in Stonetown at 11:00 a.m. with the participation of Mrs. Maryam Yussuf, Zanzibar’s Commissioner of Education.
Through RISE and its implementing partner, Education Development Center (EDC), USAID will develop Interactive Radio Instruction programs with learning materials for preschoolers and children in Standards I & II. Plans include working with communities to establish 125 community-based Play and Learn clubs serving 10,200 children. Using simple ‘wind-up’ radios, programs will be piloted in sixty primary classrooms enabling 2,700 children to improve learning in math, Kiswahili and life skills through games, songs and stories. RISE will also encourage communities to strengthen their commitment for learning achievement among underserved children. The goal is to insure school readiness for preschoolers and a foundation for school success in Standards I & II so that children perform well and stay in school.
To prepare for the Scriptwriter’s Workshop, over fifty teachers, curriculum specialists and teacher trainers from Unguja and Pemba were interviewed and twelve were selected to attend the training. At the end of the training, six participants will be selected as scriptwriters. These educators will work with RISE for 19 months after which they will return to their official positions in the Ministry of Education with improved skills to teach; develop curriculum and learning materials; and establish effective environments for learning in preschool and lower primary school.
According to Mr. Abdulla M. Abdulla, Commissioner of Policy, Planning and Budget, MOEVT, “Learning through radio instruction in communities is as important as learning in the classroom. The RISE Project offers young Zanzibaris another avenue for learning, especially in the areas where we do not have facilities for preschools. This will help the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to implement its new policy of including preschoolers in the basic education for all."
RISE will be implemented in Micheweni (Pemba) and North A and B Districts (Unguja) beginning in July 2007.