Muallim Radio Program
by Rebecca Lee
CHILDREN IN PAKISTAN TUNE IN AND LEARN
PICTURE A GROUP of young children hunkered down around a radio listening to their favorite program . The scene could be reminiscent of your parents or grandparents when they were children .
Radios might seem like an outdated technology in today ’ s digital age . Yet while children in the United States are glued to their computers , tablets , and smartphones , children in Pakistan are “ going to school ” through the radio .
RADIO AS A LIFELINE TO LEARNING
IN THE EARLY DAYS of the COVID-19 pandemic , community leaders in Gilgit- Baltistan ( GB ) in northern Pakistan convened virtually with educators and Central Asia Institute ’ s in-country partners to explore ways to keep children learning while schools were closed .
The group was particularly focused on preventing girls from entering the child labor force . The world has watched this scenario play out repeatedly in times of natural disasters and other pandemics like Ebola : Schools close and girls are put to work , only to be denied the right to return when schools re-open .
Unless the leaders in GB made it a priority for girls to continue their studies during lockdown , the region was at risk of reversing decades of gains made for girls ’ education . Some sort of distance learning was needed to bridge the learning gap until schools reopened .
Many households in this remote area of Pakistan have no internet access , and 43 % of the population lives below the poverty line . More than half of children do not go to school . Many homes are without electricity , and most families have no computer , smartphone , or even a television . That means the Zoom classes that were ubiquitous in the United States during lockdown were not an option in remote Pakistan .
In the spring of 2020 , the consortium of education and civil service organizations in GB took action . With the support of Central Asia Institute , they launched a pilot educational radio program on Radio Pakistan . Tuning in to the program required two inexpensive and readily available items : a radio and batteries .
“ The pandemic threatened to push these children further behind , but the radio program has acted as a sort
of lifeline .
”
— Reported by Joe McCarthy in Global Citizen , Feb . 26 , 2021
The purpose of the pilot program was to keep students — especially girls — learning despite being stuck at home due to the pandemic . The disruption in young lives when a school closes for any reason cannot be overstated . The longer a student is out of school , the less likely they will return . This is especially true for girls . The pilot program targeted 2,300 children living in remote communities who normally attend community-based schools due to the lack of formal , government schools in their area .
MUALLIM RADIO QUICKLY EXPANDS ITS REACH
THE RADIO PROGRAM was called Muallim , the Urdu word for teacher . Initially , the curriculum was designed for students in grades 1-3 . But given the program ’ s success , it was soon broadened to cover grades 4-5 as well . The content focused on basic subjects , including Urdu , English , math , and general knowledge , with a special focus on health and hygiene .
Lessons were presented in an easy-to-understand style by qualified and trained teachers . Stories , poems , and games kept the content entertaining and engaging . Children provided voiceovers for recurring characters , which added playful and helpful commentary . The organizers realized that Muallim Radio had caught on when they heard stories of parents bringing their broken radios to repair shops .
6 | JOURNEY OF HOPE CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE