At the beginning of the COVID- 19 pandemic, 40 million Pakistani children were affected by school closures and suddenly behind on their learning. With our educational institutions closing their doors, the Pakistani government launched the Teleschool TV Channel, providing daily educational content for students from KG to 12th grade.
Then, in March 2023, they launched the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT) Teleschool App. Last month, Tabadlab conducted a thorough case study identifying what the app accomplished and where it left room for improvement.
Teleschool App Accomplishments
Tabadlab’s review points out some positive features of the app:
● The app is easy to install
● Has a user-friendly interface
● Contains an expansive content library on different subjects as well as live channels for specific grades
● Allows learners to provide feedback on the app easily
● Has content specifically meant for out of school children
Teleschool App Shortcomings
According to Tabadlab, one of the shortcomings with the Teleschool App is its lack of accessibility. While the app is easy to install, its users might not be able to get to that point without smartphones and quality internet access, both of which much of the population lacks. Additionally, the app lacks any assessment feature to ensure students are meeting specific learning outcomes.
How Tee Square Can Fill In The Gaps
The (MoFEPT) Teleschool App has been a commendable public sector initiative. By tweaking the accessibility and affordability components, it is possible to reach larger audiences and have more of an impact.
With the Team Taleem program For example, we tackle the accessibility issue by providing learning kits for students, instead of having them use their own smartphones or tablets. Our learning kits include a tablet, stylus and headphones. Additionally, our app is available offline to users who live in remote areas or have connectivity issues.
Another accessibility issue found in the Teleschool App is language. Teleschool teaches both Urdu and English but its interface is still in English. At Team Taleem, we reach students who have been out of school and help them gain basic reading, writing and computational skills. Since many of our users are unable to read, our interface walks them through the app using graphics and lesson plans in their local language.
Team Taleem also emphasizes learning outcomes by generating weekly and monthly progress reports for each student learning via the app. Additionally, we have students take mid-term and final term assessments, the passing of which leads to a certificate of completion.
We have seen the positive impact of Ed-Tech in Pakistan through Teleschool as well as other enterprises. Now is the time to add robust, sustainable and scalable learning models to improve the quality of the education we provide using digital platforms.
