UNICEF advances education for 9,000 herder family children through audio lessons
"Knowledge Wave” audio lessons
- English
- Mongolian
During the COVID-19 pandemic, one third of children in Mongolia, particularly those from remote herder families, couldn’t access distance learning due to a lack of digital devices and infrastructure.
In order to support the learning of these children as well as others who are at the risk of being left behind, UNICEF, together with the Ministry of Education and Science developed audio lessons for children aged 4-7. These lessons were designed with an innovative teaching method based on storytelling. It aims to support school readiness of pre-school children of 4-5 years old as well as grade 1 and 2 students who are 6-7 years old.
90 audio lessons called "Knowledge Wave” have been developed, along with workbook as a complementary learning material. The audio content were disseminated through audio players, reaching 9000 children across 21 provinces, particularly benefiting herder families and disadvantaged children without stable access to TV and the internet. The audio lessons were especially useful during the harsh winter conditions, known as Dzud, when herder children couldn’t access educational services. Furthermore, the lessons were made available on the medle.mn e-learning platform and the Marchaakhai mobile app, expanding their reach to over 1,153,000 viewers. This initiative played a crucial role in ensuring educational continuity during challenging times.
“Storytelling has been a joy for me”, shared a 2nd grade student from Zavkhan province. “My younger brother and I listen to the stories together. If we liked a story, we incorporate it into our playtime. For example, we had so much fun role playing the “Monkey” story that we both ended up imitating monkeys…”
“The audio lessons have been incredibly effective for my child”, her mother expressed. “She couldn’t attend pre-school due to her allergies. However, after listening to the lessons, she has been asking to go to a kindergarten and she has developed a keen interest in learning.”
In the aftermath of unprecedented challenges, this initiative serves as a powerful example of innovation, collaboration, and the unwavering commitment to ensuring every child’s right to education. These efforts continue to pave the way towards a brighter, more inclusive future for the children of Mongolia, advancing one audio player at a time.
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”Knowledge Wave – Audio lessons” project implemented by Ministry of Education and Science and UNICEF with the funding support of Maßvoll Stiftung, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg.
