Brazilian public school kids go gaga for radio classes

The Brazilian Report has explored the social inequalities widened by the coronavirus pandemic, none more so than in education. Only now, some 16 months after the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, are Brazil’s public schools beginning to reopen; meanwhile, the majority of private schools restarted lessons at the end of last year.

Without classes, most Brazilian schoolchildren had to rely on online lessons to keep up with their studies. However, due to Brazil’s size and diversity, this posed its own problem: millions of students either do not have any access to the internet or do not enjoy the stable connections required to follow online learning materials.

Faced with this technological bottleneck, some teachers fell back on a more antiquated mode of communication: radio, which has the advantage of reaching even the country’s most isolated neighborhoods.

Most examples of such programs are found in the poor Northeast region of Brazil, which is also home to the largest share of the...