Demand for education on TV gains prominence in Ghana amid Covid-19

Joy Learning, a free-to-air (FTA), not-for-profit TV channel dedicated solely to Ghanaian educational content, has proven to be a critical source of learning for senior high school (SHS) pupils across the West African sub-region while schools have been closed to combat the spread of Covid-19, according to Abdulai Awudu, General Manager of Joy Learning.

Awudu says the channel can be accessed by TV viewers throughout the sub-region as part of the FTA direct-to-home (DTH) multi-TV platform on SES’ Astra-2F, by using a standard decoder or TV with built-in DTH tuner.

“While this channel was originally created to give Ghanaian SHS students access to educational content while they were away from school – as a result of the double-track system – it has recently proven useful to all English-speaking West African countries who follow the West Africa Examination Council curriculum,” commented Awudu.

The channel, which was launched last December, was part of a corporate social responsibility initiative undertaken by the Multimedia Group (MGL) through its Educare Foundation, in partnership with e-learning platform Wolo TV; service provider K-Net; and SES.

SES provides the satellite capacity and broadcast services; K-Net provides local backhaul and teleport services; Wolo creates and supplies the educational content; and MGL runs the channel.

“By coming together to offer a free educational channel to SHS students, the partners in this venture have been able to address not only some of the challenges posed by the implementation of the Free SHS Education Policy in Ghana, but also some of the educational challenges brought about by the indefinite closure of schools across the country amid the COVID-19 crisis,” commented Theodore Asampong, General Manager of Media Platforms at SES Video.

“The Ghana SHS double track system means that while some kids are in school, others are at home waiting their turn for two months or so,” added Joe Anim from Wolo TV. “The idea behind Joy Learning was to allow those at home to keep up with their studies by broadcasting well-organised and world-class educational content that they could access for free on a daily basis.”

Joy Learning reaches 97% of all satellite TV homes in Ghana.