With the reopening of schools pushed back to June 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the SABC has launched a stand-alone SABC Education channel filled with content to cater for all age groups and grade levels.
In line with the corporation’s mandate, the new channel will broadcast public service content from the Department of Education, educational programmes currently available on SABC 1, 2, 3, as well as archived material produced by the SABC on a limited basis.
For now, the channel will not be free to air and therefore will not yet be made available to all learners.
The SABC Education channel which was launched on Monday, will initially be available on YouTube and Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT). The availability on other platforms will be confirmed at a later stage.
“The launch of the channel is timely, as the nation requires these interventions to fill gaps that have been created by Covid-19 related adjustments. In particular, this initiative will ensure that education and learning continues outside the traditional classroom environment,” said Group CEO Madoda Mxakwe in a press statement.
“The introduction of the SABC Education channel is in line with our education strategy which has been in the pipeline for some time.” Mxakwe added that the channel is a long-term project that is targeted at foundation, intermediate, high school, as well as civic and tertiary education categories.
To keep the campaign alive the broadcaster said it needed more funding to help reach more people.
“This is only possible if funding is made available to broadcast this material on SABC 1 and 2, the platforms with the best national reach. The SABC can provide 12 hours per day over these two channels,” concluded Mxakwe.