The National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) applauded the proposal by the government to use the television as a teaching aid for primary school students.

Its secretary-general Loke Yin Pin said it is important to expose students to information and communication technology (ICT), adding that it would help bridge the knowledge gap between rural and urban children.

"Rural children are unable to receive extra information beyond what the teacher knows. We don't want a vast gap between urban and rural children," she said when contacted yesterday.

Early this week, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi suggested that a standard timetable be used for all primary schools.

He said this would allow school children nationwide to simultaneously receive educational radio and television programmes and participate in teleconferencing.

Loke said with the implementation of the simultaneous timetables, rural children would be able to gain access to the latest information and be informed on the latest developments.

However, she conceded that such a move would not be without logistical problems, which must be addressed by the Education Ministry.

She suggested that the government provide more television sets to schools and look into the problem of non-single session schools.

"Some schools have both morning and afternoon sessions. However, teachers can tape and record television programmes to be played to students who missed the broadcast. It would have to depend on the initiative of the teachers," she added.

Insufficient manpower

Prominent academic Prof Khoo Kay Kim also welcomed the proposal to use television programmes to educate children.

He said the proper use of visual aids can help break the monotony of the classroom as children have short attention spans.

However, the historian expressed reservation over the proposal to standardise time table.

"A better way would be to have video cassettes distributed to schools, thus allowing the schools to keep their schedules and have greater freedom.

"It is not always possible to have students watching the same television programme at the same time," he said when contacted.

Commenting on the proposals, a retired school teacher told malaysiakini that insufficient manpower might hinder efforts to standardise timetables.

He explained that it was common for one or two teachers to teach the same subject for all classes on the same level.

"It is not practical to standardise timetables as in most cases, there would not be enough teachers to guide them," said the teacher who requested anonymity.

Another concerned teacher pointed out that there are more teaching periods in Chinese primary schools as they learn Science in both Chinese and English.

It was reported yesterday that Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussien had instructed its ministry to accomplish the project and hinted that it would be implemented before the end of the year.