RADIO IN SCHOOLS

Evening Star, Issue 25632, 5 November 1945, Page 4

RADIO IN SCHOOLS

LITTLE USED IN OTAGO TEACHERS BLAME RECEPTION CONDITIONS Comparatively little use is made in Otago of the special educational broadcasts to schools. This impression was gained as a result of inquiries made from several city head masters with a wide experience of school affairs throughout the province. One of the reasons advanced was that reception conditions were not always satisfactory, but the view of the broadcasting authorities was that the quality of the transmission of educational sessions broadcast from Station 4YA was generally excellent.

During a recent debate in the House of Representatives on the broadcasting vote, the Acting Minister of Broadcasting, the Hon. F. Jones, is reported to have said that 88,000 children from 2,000 schools heard broadcasts every week. This was interpreted to mean that that large number of children, amounting to about one-third of the school population in the country, regularly heard the educational broadcasts. Some parents who have to the school programmes over the air, and who have been impressed by their high standard, have expressed surprise that their own children do not hear the broadcasts in school. It appears to be generally admitted that in Otago a much lower proportion of children than the Minister mentioned hear school broadcasts, although more use may be made of the radio in the north.

Until reproduction in the classrooms of the'broadcasts was perfect the educational would not be extensively 'used, said the head master of'one city school this morning. He said it should be remembered that although reception might be excellent in a room of moderate size in a quiet private home, it would not necessarily reach the same standard in a- large schoolroom. If a school were situated on the tram line, for instance, reception would be subject to interruptions and electrical interference, with the result that some of the broadcast would be lost and the children disappointed. As the programmes were relayed from Wellington, or other northern cities, a certain amount of atmospheric noise crept in on the way, and that affected the standard of reception. LOCAL BROADCASTS. The best results would be obtained if the broadcasts originated in the local 6tudios, he said.. This would result in an improvement in reception and a more widespread use of the radio sessions. Although the radio was installed in a number of schools, it was not to be found in some. In the past, school committees had had to meet the cost of the equipment, and some felt that it was not their function to provide money for such purposes, contending that if radio was a necessary part of school equipment it should be supplied by the Education Department. Although he had heard some very fine educational programmes on the air, and a limited use was made of the radio in the school on special occasi6ns, the service was not taken extensively, said the head master of an intermediate school. In his opinion, the reception of the programmes was not sufficiently reliable. It was necessary to prepare a class for a radio session, and if reception was not good the time was wasted. It was stated on behalf of the National Broadcasting Service that the programmes were relayed from station to station and generally the reception was excellent. If it was found that interference made the programme unintelligible, land lines were immediately called in to improve the quality of the broadcast. A _ competent radio engineer could advise school committees on any reception problems and repair any faults which might have developed in the equipment. NOT IN GOOD REPAIR.

Several teachers suggested that either the equipment in their schools was not sufficiently good for the purpose or had not been kepi; in satisfactory repair. Their experience was that the reception was not good enough to hold the interest of the classes. After a few unfortunate experiences with educational broadcasts, many teachers preferred to proceed with their own teaching.

An official of the Otago Education Board explained that before the war the Education Department had supplied radio, equipment to schools at cheap prices and had provided a grant towards the cost of installation. At present, some receivers, mostly battery sets, were* available for. schools from the National Patriotic Fund Board at reasonable prices. The question of a subsidy, which was withdrawn during the war, had not yet been considered. Many schools in Otago already possessed radio equipment.