Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

ROLE OF COMMUNITY RADIO IN EDUCATION10th International Conference on

Finding Innovative Solutions for Poverty Eradication in India

Pooja O. Murada

Engaging the Excluded

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Reach Area: Mewat

431 villages, 1.1 million population with limited access to mainstream media

• Low literacy rate (56.1% , Female Literacy: 37.6%)• Patriarchic and conservative community• Water scarcity; 14% villages have access to sweet water, rest is all saline• Dependence on agriculture and allied activities (78%)• Poor health indicators: o Institutional deliveries: 14.8%; o Maternal Mortality Rate: 275 per 100,000 live births; o Access to toilet facilities: 16.2%

• Family Size: 7; Girls married before 18 years: 43.2%• Fading local culture• Low awareness about government programsSources: Census 2011; District Level Household and Facility Survey-III, 2010 ; Sample Registration Survey 2011

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, values, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next.

Source: Wikipedia

What is Education?

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Alfaz-e-Mewat 107.8 MHz is set up by IRRAD with support from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), GoI under its Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) scheme. MoA supports community radio stations under ATMA to promote agricultural extension reforms to the farmer level.

Location: Village Ghaghas at the Aravalli foothills, district Mewat, HaryanaCommunity : Majorly Meo MuslimsLaunch Date: February 2012Reach: More than 180 villagesBroadcast Duration: 12 hours

Community Radio: A knowledge sharing platform for the communities

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Community Radio for education

• The area with limited access to the mainstream media• Easily accessible and cost effective medium• Promotes community dialogue• Effective in communities with low literacy level• Accessible to women• Use of local dialect • Gives voice to the marginalized sections of society• Addresses development issues, which lacks space in other media

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Rural voices of Mewat

Community Radio: Connects, Educates, Entertains

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Radio School: Reaches out to those who have never seen inside of a class room ever.Radio tutoring episodes help children in learning basic academic concepts in Hindi, English and Science.

Galli Galli Sim Sim: Emphasizes on improving quality education among primary school children. Between 3-8 years.

Waqt Hamara Hai: Brings young achievers to share their stories and motivate other community kids. A special show for and of the children.

Community Radio: Connects, Educates, Entertains

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Important debates: Programs like Guftgu and live discussions bring to light topics such as girl child enrolment, state of education in villages and others. These feature role models and get officials to comment on concerns raised by people.

Hamse Hai Shasan: A program on good governance, bridges the information divide about the entitlements for the village communities and access. It also shares role of School Management Committees, Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Committees.

Radio In-School: 10 government schools narrowcast Galli Galli Sim Sim in their classrooms, post which the teachers use the teaching aids and games to further train children.

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Special days celebrations: National Days, Children’s day, Teachers day. Women’s day, literacy day and many more

Campaigns and drives: Enrolment drives, water literacy drives, sanitation drives

Awareness and advocacy: Programs supporting the government departments to spread information about various schemes, role of panchayats and duties and responsibilities of community institutions

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Achievements

• Increased awareness levels: Parents listen to programs together with their children

• Effective village institutions: Active village councils, education and health committees

• Cross-sharing of ideas: Teachers from various schools in Mewat are sharing their experiences with each other

• Content sharing: Broadcasting programs from NIOS on radio

• Community contribution: 20 schools are regularly contributing content

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

There is POWER in Empowerment!

Community radio in India is gathering momentum with huge potential to democratize information and act as effective agents to promote education and awareness at the bottom of the pyramid

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Mubeena, the local cook and our radio volunteer

Razia, village broadcaster now the district coordinator, NRHM

Voices that matter too…

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

Local women participation for radio

Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD)

alfazemewat@gmail.com, poojamurada@irrad.org www.irrad.org

Together, We Empower Rural India

THANK YOU