LEARNERS throughout the length and breadth of Guyana will soon be afforded the luxury of high-quality televised and digitised content when the Guyana Learning Channel (GLC) upgrades its signal.
This new development will see the GLC becoming the first channel to broadcast programmes in high definition (HD), Head of GLC, Bibi Aniesha Mohamed, said during a recent interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI).
“What this means is that we’re going to move from an analogue system that every other station in the country is using, and what we currently are using, to a digital… the difference between analogue and digital is it’s going to be that there’s not going to be any interference… so, you’re going to have HD quality like you have on Netflix, or very crisp, clean, uninterrupted quality of video,” she said.

According to Mohamed, the upgrade is expected to be completed within a matter of weeks.
The Government has allocated some $200 million for the establishment of six additional channels, along with a new radio station to deliver educational content. Since August 2020, the GLC has been undergoing a redesign of its programming, an undertaking carried out through the Ministry of Education.
The redesign has seen nursery to secondary school learners being provided with access to scheduled educational content, to compensate for the loss in the education sector, caused by COVID-19. The GLC Head also referred to the existence of an ongoing programme aimed at providing the relevant equipment for education delivery in the hinterland.
“We’re doing a project with the Ministry of Education that enables us to provide televisions, as well as satellite and solar to power this equipment in all 210-plus hinterland, riverine communities throughout the country,” Mohamed stated.

Depending on the student population and their needs, the ministry, through the ongoing programme, will equip each school with three to six television sets. Six communities in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) have already been equipped, along with Kamarang, Kaikan and Paruima in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
“It’s going to provide the schools with not only access to the learning channel; however, that’s the core need and where we hope the community is going to benefit most from, but they’re also going to be given 80-plus other channels that the community collectively, can make use of and on weekends and when the students are not utilising it. So, it’s a huge thing, especially for those communities that lack the resources and the benefits of coastland,” Mohamed said.
The Guyana Learning Channel will also be launching its website to complement its various social media platforms, and to enhance online access to its learning resources. Provisions are also in place for persons who still utilise analogue television sets. The ministry will be offering a digital receiver box that would allow them to access the content. (DPI)