Community Radio and its prospects in Education

Abstract

Radio is a powerful mass medium that informs, educates, is inclusive, preserves the local identity of communities and helps reach out to and empower marginalized sections of society. In developing countries, it can add value in several ways, particularly in areas where information, knowledge and technology come at a cost. It has the potential to fill the gap that exists in schools by providing quality education, vocational and skill training to disadvantaged students. The article begins by tracing the history of radio with a focus on the experiments of radio in education across the globe. This ranges from, the BBC’s schools broadcasting services in 1924, and programmes for underprivileged children by AIR Madras, to the educational FM channel Gyan Vani being launched in India in 2011. Steering towards the importance of Community Radio and its potential to reach out to underprivileged communities, the paper highlights the educational initiatives launched with community radios by National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) in India. The paper also addresses Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) - a teaching methodology that makes learning fun and evaluating its success stories in India and abroad. Various local-level efforts that have helped in reaching out to the marginalized sections in lieu of improving education has also been discussed.