WINDHOEK – The Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol) now has an educational campus radio, which will aid learners with their studies. For now, the Namcol campus radio is streaming live on the internet. But, it will later expand to a radio frequency.
In an interview with New Era yesterday, the Education Radio Project Coordinator, Manfred Isaacks said the primary aim of the campus radio is to supplement Namcol learners, especially those who are pursuing their studies through distance learning with lectures on the different subjects.
“…It’s to support distance students. They don’t get face-to-face classes. Through radio they can listen to different lectures given by the tutors. So, it’s more of a support tool,” Isaacks explained.
He noted that campus radio is the country’s first educational radio and its mandate is to educate learners to obtain better grades.
Isaacks also explained that Namcol currently pre-packages the educational material that is aired on the radio and at a later stage there will be live tutorials. Namibians, who are anywhere in the world, can log onto the Namcol website and access campus radio, he noted.
The campus radio streams on weekdays from 08h00 to 17h00. The content consists of different school subjects offered in schools and at Namcol, news headlines, whether report, sports, Namibian music and notices.
“We don’t want to become another music station in Namibia,” commented Isaacks. He also emphasised that the radio’s main focus is to educate learners to obtain better grades at school.
Currently, though, the educational content is mainly for Grade 10 and 12 learners, Isaacks noted. But, he was quick to mention that in the near future all high school learners will be catered for. In addition, students at higher institutions will also be catered for in the not too distant future, an enthusiastic Isaacks shared.
“Streaming is a start. Our next step is to get a radio frequency from CRAN (Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia) and go live on air,” added Isaacks.
“My wish is to see more campus radio stations that can really support students in their studies. Most radios focus more on music and adverts,” he said.
Namcol campus radio presenter, Wilhelemiina Kafo said the Namcol campus radio is a good initiative because learners who tune into the radio will improve their studies. “If they don’t understand what the teacher taught them in class they will learn from campus radio,” said Kafo.
The campus radio was launched on Friday.