DISTANCE education has been part of Guyana’s education system since the launch of the Guyana Learning Channel (GLC) in April 2011 by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who was the President at the time.

The GLC was formed to promote distance education and to revitalize or supplement the classroom-based curriculum.

In 2020, the Learning Channel started the Hinterland Riverine Project, which aims to provide TV, solar and satellite to every hinterland and riverine community throughout Guyana. To date, Learning Channel is 96 percent complete with this project and aims to complete it by the end of 2024.

The Director of the Guyana Learning Channel, Anieshaw Mohamed, disclosed that with the inland project, they have strategically placed televisions in schools within each community. This, she said, is not limited to the use of only the school.

“If you do not have access to our digital channels, we will soon be rolling out our digital TV box. Now, this TV box, once you have a regular TV, it allows you to connect to our digital channel. It’s kind of like a cable box without a monthly subscription, says Mohamed.

She also mentioned that GLC currently has a total of 10,000 boxes to distribute, starting with people in need first. In addition to that, each of their channels are available on e-network cables.

The box will be distributed to individuals, prioritized according to need.

People must have children who must go to school. “If you don’t have a cable connection with e-networks or readily available internet, this is something you can take advantage of right away as a first-timer,” Mohamed said.

The learning channel has six channels and its analog channel. “Our digital channel is GLC Junior, and the target audience for that channel is pre-school.

“For GLC Elementary, the target audience is primary. GLC Teen is secondary. GLC Discover is for lovers of science and discovery, and GLC Elevate is for adults or late learners. There is also GLC Plus, which caters to a general audience.

The manager noted that in 2020, during covid-19, they rushed to make sure they created content. She explained, “A lot of the work was really rushed, and it didn’t get the quality and the kind of content we aim to deliver here at the Learning Channel now. When we create content, we review the curriculum. We’ve had some curriculum changes within the ministry during the years, and we stay up to date with it.”

By the end of 2024, Mohamed said GLC will launch an app that will enable its users to access all the content available on the Learning Channel, and any of the company’s six channels, live, at any time. The app can be used on iOS or Android phones.

She said the purpose of the app is to remove the distraction from YouTube (where they have about 68,000 subscribers), by giving kids an option to switch to the app and use the content there because it reinforces what is being taught in the classroom.

Mohamed went on to say that with the type of content they create, GLC aims to provide content that is entertaining but also has an educational component.

Mohamed emphasized that one of the programs they have created is “The Amazing World of Cho”, an animated show about Cho, a little girl in Region Nine, who attends Saint Ignatius Primary School. Cho is eight years old and tries to navigate the world around her while growing up in the hinterland. She will be exposed to the city very soon. The show was produced and written by the GLC staff.

In addition to this series, the Learning Channel has a National Spelling Bee, Whiz Kids, Brainiacs and soon Mathletes. There is also a National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) Booster, along with content from Nursery School all the way to Year 11.