Radio lessons a critical tool for continuing education

Joyline Rushwaya is one of many teachers whose careers were halted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As numbers of infected people grew, many countries including Zimbabwe went into national lockdowns to minimise infections resulting in learners staying at home without options for continuing their education. Students in rural settings were the most affected by the national lockdowns due to limited access to internet and tools for communication such as mobile smartphones with WhatsApp for instance, where urban students were receiving information from their teachers and from their peers.

Prior to COVID-19, the Manicaland and Masvingo provinces of Zimbabwe experienced torrential rainfall, after the landfall of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique on 14 March 2019. The combination of high winds and heavy precipitation in the districts of Chimanimani, Chipinge, Buhera, Nyanga, Makoni, Mutare Rural, Bikita, Masvingo and Gutu resulted in riverine and flash flooding, as well as landslides, causing significant loss of life, injury and displacement.

In her account of the impact of Cyclone Idai Joyline notes, "When Cyclone Idai hit we were caught unawares. A bridge that is used by students to cross over to go to school was damaged by the cyclone and students were not able to come to school. This was a major issue for the community as many students were not able to go to their schools due to the damaged roads and bridges".

The Solo Foundation introduced Joyline to radio lessons when she was invited to record lessons for airing on Diamond FM. She found herself in a situation where she had to record lessons without any prior knowledge of radio lessons scripting and recording. Joyline used her mobile telephone to record and send lessons that were aired on Diamond FM. Radio lessons enabled her to continue teaching remotely without convening her students in a classroom.

Joyline enjoyed recording lessons on her mobile telephone, however without being training she initially had some challenges to get the lessons just right. As one of the teachers recently trained by UNESCO, her journey in recording radio lessons has grown leading her to Chimanimani FM her local community radio station.