Kerala Education Channel to Air COVID-19 Prevention, Phone-in Programmes

Thiruvananthapuram: KITE Victers, the educational channel of Kerala government, has launched awareness programmes and live-phone-in to help people prevent COVID-19 in the wake of a surge in infections in the state.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during his recent public address, had indicated the use of channels like KITE VICTERS and alike for broadcasting COVID-19 prevention awareness programmes, including live phone-In programmes which would clear the doubts and address concerns of many.

The new programmes are designed and scheduled on the same lines, Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) authorities said here.

As part of the initiative, two types of programmes are scheduled to be aired through the channel-- first, the telecast of awareness videos related to COVID-19 prevention, and second a live-phone-in  programme titled "Athijeevanam" (survival), in association with the State Health Department.

The callers would be able to interact with experts and doctors in respective areas related to Covid-19 testing, quarantine, home isolation, treatment guidelines and so on, they said.

The topics would also include preventive measures to be adopted, use of SMS (Soap, Mask and Social Distancing), different campaigns like Break the Chain and Back to Basic, vaccination, different vaccines, its effectiveness and dosagedetails, registration procedure, and e-Sanjeevani Telemedicine system and so on.

The Toll Free number for calling into the Live Phone In programme is 1800 425 9877.

Besides, another phone-in programme on mental well-being during COVID-19 times exclusively for students and parents, in association with the Women and Child Welfare Department would also be telecast on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m to 12 noon, they said.

CEO of KITE, K Anvar Sadath said both these programmes would facilitate a massive awareness programme-cum-question and answer sessions wherein the doubts would be clarified by the experts and doctors.

VICTERS would gradually increase the telecast time for such programmes in due time, he added.

During the pandemic situation, VICTERS channel has been extensively used for the broadcast of First Bell Digital Classes from June last year, which has ensured the continuance of education of over 43 lakh students in the southern state.

The telecast of all but Plus One classes has been completed, official sources added.