The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) has taken initiatives to keep students engaged in study in an alternative way as academic activities are closed due to coronavirus, the department chief said.
DSHE Director General Prof Syed Md Golam Faruk told the media that they will air recorded lectures through television channels. The lectures will be uploaded on YouTube and other online platforms too.
According to the director general, the program will start from next Saturday but experimental broadcast will be done on Tuesday (today). This service will be available for the sixth to tenth-grade students. Lecture recording, editing, and evaluation work are currently underway.
Golam Faruk said, “It is not certain yet how long the existing conditions of the coronavirus will prevail. Therefore, steps have been taken to broadcast thematic lectures on television channels in the interest of keeping students engaged in study.”
Which television channels will air the programmes have not been finalised yet. However, communication with several television authorities is underway.”
The same lectures will also be uploaded on YouTube so that students can watch them later. The lectures will also be archived online at www.connect.gov.bd, the director general said.
DSHE Director Prof Prabir Kumar Bhattacharya said, “35 lessons or lectures have been planned for each of the 5 classes from sixth to tenth grade. There will be 7 lectures daily for each class in line with the class routine.”
Twenty-one lectures have already been prepared, he added.
After evaluation, lectures will be given permission from teams comprising representatives of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) and Bangladesh Examination Development Unit (BEDU), and education experts.
DSHE officials said lectures will continue until schools reopen. Recording is going on in three studios. There are plans of broadcasting classes between 9 am to 9 pm in channels including BTV.
Earlier, the government announced that all educational institutions and coaching centres in the country will remain closed until March 31 amid the spread of coronavirus in Bangladesh.
According to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research (IEDCR), coronavirus has so far affected 33 people and claimed three lives in Bangladesh.