AIR programme encourages public speaking skills among students

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, January 19

Students from as many as four government middle and primary schools of the district participated in a two-day programme, ‘Road Show — Mera Sarkari School Meri Shaan’ of the All India Radio (AIR). The programme was broadcast on FM Rainbow at 102.7 MHz in the morning on Friday and Saturday.

Giving details of the programme, a spokesperson for the Education Department said: “It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative by the department to encourage public speaking among students and showcase their talents in singing, comedy acts, etc, in front of the public.”

In the chat show, students had an interaction with the anchor regarding teaching, environment and activities being conducted in schools under the Parho Punjab Parhao Punjab project, officials said.

“In the first week of January, the department broadcast a documentary-based teachers’ training programme, depicting efforts of the government in bringing improvement in the schools. However, this time, we had made use of the oldest medium of mass communication to give the public the idea about the changing mindset of many towards government schools. Besides, with such initiatives, the interest of students in studies and co-curricular activities grows,” the spokesperson added.

With the help of education officials, school heads, teachers, members of school management committees and Parho Punjab Parhao Punjab team, the Secretary, School Education, Punjab, Krishan Kumar, appealed to the members of affiliated social welfare institutes and parents of students studying in private schools to listen to the radio programme and get an insight of development in government schools.

He said through the programme, more number of students, who were deprived of basic education, would be enrolled in schools.

In addition, district coordinator, Parho Punjab Parhao Punjab project, Varindervir Singh, said: “To uplift the level of education in the state, the schools had been revamped and new e-content had been created. We are also making it a point to give more practical exposure to students in the face of live chat shows on the radio and by organising various other events in the schools.”

“It is expected that the radio programme and the documentary broadcast will change the attitude of students and parents towards the government schools and the enrolment would be double of what was in the previous year, he said.