Radio rises as the champion medium for Limpopo matrics during lockdown

This past Monday morning, matric pupils in Limpopo tuned in to Capricorn FM not to listen to music but to the voices of their teachers.

Development agencies Kagiso Trust, partnering with the Limpopo education department, is providing school lessons via the radio for matrics in the province.

“Kagiso Trust has long believed that education is the key to overcoming poverty,” says organisation chief executive Mankodi Moitse.

“Over the past 16 years, we have created education programmes structured to have the highest impact and the greatest sustainability.”

Radio lessons will be hosted on Capricorn FM, Sekhukhune FM and Tubatse FM from Monday to Sunday for an hour a day.

Limpopo Education MEC Polly Boshielo said crafted lessons are offered by expert subject teachers with an excellent track record in the subject they offer.

“These are the teachers who recorded 80% and more pass rate in the subjects which they teach since 2017. We believe that their expert content knowledge will benefit more than 80% of the current Grade 12 learners in Limpopo,” Boshielo said.

Kagiso Trust chief operating officer Themba Mola said Grade 12 pupils had already lost more than 30 days since the lockdown and faced the possibility of losing another month should they follow the phased-in model announced by government for a June 1 return.

“This model of mediating learning will strengthen teaching and learning in the absence of face-to-face conventional classes,” he said.

Capricorn FM will focus on MST subjects – mathematics, sciences and technologies – including mathematical literacy, physical sciences, life sciences and agricultural sciences.

“These are the subjects that are highly enrolled and determine the standard and quality of education offered in Limpopo. Currently, the main subject that poses a serious challenge in the province is mathematics, whose performance is still below the threshold,” said Mola.

The other seven non-MST subjects will be broadcast by community radio stations in both the Sekhukhune east and south education districts. They include English first additional language, Sepedi home language, accounting, business studies, economics, history and geography.

Each live broadcast lesson will last for an hour per day, and will be broadcast during and after the lockdown period.

The first 30 minutes of the broadcast is allocated to the teacher to mediate learning and the other 30 minutes will be reserved for the leaners to interact with the teacher through questions and/or comments.

Content will largely cover term 1 and 2, and will be supplemented by face-to-face contact sessions after leaners have returned to school.

“In a province as large as Limpopo, radio is the perfect platform to reach most learners,” says Moitse.

“This is about inclusivity. It is about access to information. It is about gathering together around a radio like we once all did. This is the new normal. We call on everyone to support the radio lessons and the #KagisoRadioTeachers campaign. [These are] local teachers broadcasting across Limpopo, straight into the homes of learners.”

. Capricorn FM will broadcast lessons from 5pm to 6pm on Monday to Friday on the Just Drive Show, and every Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 10am on the Saturday Breakfast Show and the Sunday Restoration Show, respectively.

. Podcasts will be available on the station’s website and learners from other provinces can listen via live streaming

For more information, visit: kagiso.co.za / edu.limpopo.gov.za / capricornfm.co.za

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