EDUCATION Minister Shaik Baksh has expressed the view that feedback rather than criticism is the way forward to improve the operation of the recently launched Guyana Learning Channel. The minister who was at the time speaking at a handing over ceremony at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) said that a unit has been established to monitor feedback from stakeholders and implement changes where necessary.
According to a Ministry of Education release, Minister Baksh disclosed that shortly 100 students from across the country along with a number of teachers will be monitoring the programmes over a two-week period and will submit their observations to the Feedback Monitoring Unit.
This move, Baksh said is in keeping with the culture of evaluation adopted by the Ministry of Education which is geared towards ensuring that all principal stakeholders receive optimal benefit from programmes offered by the Ministry.
Baksh made these statements in response to claims by Peoples National Congress Reform (PNCR) Member of Parliament, Cheryl Sampson at a recent press briefing.
A release from the Ministry of Education noted that though pleased with Sampson’s appreciation of the value of the Learning Channel in raising the standard of education delivery in Guyana, noted a few inaccuracies in her presentation.
Firstly, contrary to Sampson’s claim, all senior managers of the Ministry of Education have been briefed of the project and are part of a committee to develop educational programmes for the television.
The aims and objectives of the programming continue to be the dissemination of educational learning material for all ages, starting from the pre-school to adult lifelong learners in academic and non-academic areas utilizing edutainment formats. In addition, the objective is to use programming to address key social and other issues.
Secondly, Opposition Leader Robert Corbin never requested from Education Minister Shaik Baksh a project profile of the Guyana Learning Channel to be laid before the National Assembly for scrutiny.
He requested from Baksh an assurance that the television will not be used for political purposes and this assurance was given by President Bharrat Jagdeo at the launching of the channel.
Thirdly, camera persons from the television never visited any school and videotaped any teacher while teaching without prior permission, this assertion by Sampson is an outright fabrication.
In addition to this, teachers have been consulted well in advance of the preparation of programmes for the television.
Further, all programmes in Mathematics are recorded in the television classroom studios by teachers who receive content developed by NCERD’s content experts over the last two years.
These comprise of over 60 programmes at Grades Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten. In addition, the science instructors, who created the original curriculum content more than a year ago, presented their lessons in their own classrooms after completing successful camera tests in the studios.
School highlights are recorded at schools and this is scheduled weeks or days in advance. Nursery school children were recorded singing their ABC in their school yard and teachers happily cooperated with full knowledge that the children will be on television. They even showed us the TV in their classroom through which they will show the children programmes at story time.
Programmes are repeated to get all students to view content that they might have missed during the school period or after school lessons, this was undertaken based on feedback from students, teachers, and parents. Some of these content areas include Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, and Grammar. Using pedagogical considerations, subject content are broadcast repeatedly with different creative delivery formats.
These are generic revision topics for students taking examinations at this time and those just learning the basics. These include – Grammar: Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs; Sentences, English Composition; Numeracy: Decimals, Fractions, Shapes; Counting, Multiplication, division; Chemistry – Elements, Compounds, Mixtures; the Periodic Table; Biology: Cells, Basics of Plants and Animals, Photosynthesis, Mammals, the Human Circulatory System; The Heart; Physics: Kinetic Energy, Velocity, Acceleration, The Gas Laws; Food and Nutrition: Proteins, Minerals, Balanced Meals; Literature: The Merchant of Venice (The Movie) Merchant Of Venice – Discussions on The Plot; Merchant of Venice: Discussions on The Characters; Fences –  previews and synopsis of plots; and Social Studies: Quizzes.
The Learning Channel is producing and acquiring content based on curriculum guides/content for all grade levels. The pace of production is on the slow side as officials are trying to apply appropriate learning theories in the editing and presentation formats. The channel is not attempting to broadcast according to school’s timetables at the moment, although it is the intention to do so at least by September when it will need to broadcast sequentially and not just the basics and generic topics it is currently focusing on. 
Finally, all Guyanese are the intended beneficiaries of the educational content on the Learning Channel, which is not a replacement for the classroom. The channel   complements and supports the content of the curriculum during school hours so that teachers can enjoy direct access and a re-broadcast after hours so that children could view at home, the release said.