Guwahati, Feb 7: A national-level workshop titled ‘Learning issues among children post COVID: Reportage and Coverage’ for woman journalists from the Northeast was organised by the South Asia Women in Media (SWAM) in Shillong on Monday.
More than 20 woman journalists from across the country and the Northeast participated in the workshop. Three female scribes from Assam also took part in the workshop that widely discussed how the pandemic caused widespread and profound disruptions in children’s education. The workshop had sessions along with open discussion.
The first session was chaired by guest speaker of the workshop Dr Glen Kharkongor, former Vice Chancellor of Martin Luther Christian University. She spoke on the topic ‘Malnourishment and Learning in Meghalaya and Northeast States’. This was followed by a second session by the Registrar of the varsity Dr Iwamon C J Laloo who spoke extensively on ‘Primary Education and Foundational Learning in Meghalaya and Northeast states’, while Kashmir University Media Research Centre’s associate professor Dr Syeda Afshana (via online) spoke on ‘Exploring the potential of digital learning in enhancing foundational education: Challenges and opportunities’ .
Executive editor of the South India division of NDTV, Uma Sudhir, threw light on ‘School Education and the Media; Some core issues’.
Vice president of SAWM and The Shillong Times editor Patricia Mukhim, President of SAWM India, Swati Bhattacharjee, and SAWN India general secretary Nilova Roy Chowdhury also took part in the workshop.
SWAM India, organizers of the workshop, shared important information with the participants and how they intend to provide educational resources to children in need.
Adverse Impact of COVID19 on the education sector, advantages and disadvantages of online classes during the pandemic, advantages of the new education policy, its impact and the ASER report of 2022 were some of the issues highlighted and discussed during the workshop.
South Asian Women in Media (SAWM), it may be mentioned, is a network of women media professionals in South Asia. SAWM works for freedom of press, increased participation of women in the media, a gender-sensitive work environment and a gender-equal outlook in the media. It has held international and national seminars, administered grants for journalists, organized trips to areas of natural disaster or human conflict, and facilitated screening of films, or launch of books, related to women and media.
