Laos airing TV schooling reruns to encourage distance education

VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN): Education experts have consulted on the continued production of a curriculum-based TV programme to encourage distance education in rural areas following a successful airing during the school shutdown.

Research Institute for Educational Sciences, Ministry of Education and Sports and Lao Asia-Pacific Satellite Co Ltd are partnering to conduct a feasibility study on continuing the production of the educational TV programme which was piloted during the lockdown from May 9.

Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Associate Prof. Dr Phout Simmalavong recently visited Lao Asia-Pacific Satellite Co Ltd to discuss the continued development of the programme to ensure its sustainability and to encourage the further expansion of distance education in remote communities.

Associate Prof Dr Phout said, “The Company has supported the pilot broadcasts of the education and sports TV programme which has proven beneficial for the sectors.The programme was able to transfer knowledge from teachers to students.”

The project will continue to develop the programme under an educational framework for broadcast via television, radio and social media.

The Research Institute for Educational Sciences produced online study programmes for key subjects after the government ordered all schools and tertiary institutions to close temporarily earlier this year to prevent community transmission of Covid-19.

According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, the challenges to distance education broadcasts include students in some areas being unable to access TV transmissions because of no broadcast signals, or families don’t have a TV, especially in rural areas.

In addition, the ministry has offered to organise training courses to develop the video presentation skills of teachers for online education.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the institute created the ‘Teacher Development Videos’ channel, which allowed teachers to watch from home and improve their skills in using the new national primary curriculum.

The videos demonstrated essential new teaching techniques and showed effective practices to apply to solve teaching challenges.

They were used by teachers, principals, pedagogical advisors and teacher trainers for additional self-learning, lesson preparation or to refresh a specific teaching technique.

All videos featured real examples from educators using the new national primary curriculum in Laos classrooms. - Vientiane Times/Asian News Network