Teachers’ group calls for Knowledge Channel to be back on air

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) is urging the government to put Knowledge Channel back on air.

In a Facebook post, ACT noted that the recent order of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to recall ABS-CBN’s television and radio frequencies is a “curtailment of press freedom”. Knowledge Channel, a TV channel owned by ABS-CBN, has since 1999 been providing educational programs targeted to school-age children. With the looming anniversary of the declaration of martial law on September 21, ACT also expressed how it denounces how under the Duterte administration ABS-CBN was shut down.

“In the spirit of upholding press freedom and the people’s right to information, and the media’s burgeoning role in education amid the pandemic, ACT supports the Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. in its bid to extend its services and resources to the Department of Education (DepEd) as the public education system shifts to remote learning in response to the pandemic,” said ACT in its post.

ACT further emphasized that it sees no reason for the government not to tap into the 1,500 educational videos that can greatly support the delivery of education during the health crisis. A distance learning and flexible learning approach will be implemented across the country when the 2020-2021 school year officially opens on October 5.

“These are valuable resources at this particularly trying time for the country’s education system, especially with the dearth of quality materials from DepEd, the little time we have before schools open, and the lack of substantial material support from the national government,” added ACT.

Photo: Facebook/Knowledge Channel