BEFORE DidikTV, there was Education Television (ETV), something that people seem to have forgotten, its former head V.V. George, said in an interview with The Malaysian Insight.

“They didn’t invent the wheel. When DidikTV was announced, it was as if it was something new. I think they have forgotten that ETV was in existence for over 30 years and is not something new”.

Rebooting the education channel as DidikTV last month has received criticism, prompting the 82-year-old George to say ETV retirees like himself would have been more than happy to provide input, had they been asked.

“We were happy when DidikTV was announced but we were unhappy because it seemed to be rushed. Unfortunately, the episode that aired seemed like it didn’t have much preparation or training.

“It’s good that it has started, but the quality of the programme has to be improved and the teachers need to be trained,” George said.

ETV was launched in June 1972 by Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysia’s second prime minister. It served to help teachers and students in rural areas suffering from shortages of English, maths and science teachers. The channel was on air from 1972 to 2008, before it was closed.

George, who retired as the director of the curriculum division in 1993, started his career as an education officer in Teluk Intan before ending up as the head of ETV.

“It was a joint project between the Ministry of Education and RTM. We provided all the programmes and they provided technical support to operate the studios,” he said.

“ETV, Radio Pendidikan, the school library resources and engineering were all placed under the Educational Media Service (EMS), now renamed as Educational Resources and Technology Department.”

Before taking up his role in ETV, George was sent to Australia for training in educational television production. The teachers involved in the production of the shows were also sent for training overseas with the BBC in the UK, and to France as well as Japan.

RTM also played a large part in the teachers’ training, giving them access to the Asian Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBV) and Institut Penyiaran Tun Abdul Razak (IPTAR).

“A lot of work went to producing one 20-minute episode,” said George, who was with ETV from 1971 until his retirement.

He recalled ETV’s strict process for productions.

“It starts with bringing in known subject specialists, who were also experienced teachers. They will look at the syllabus and narrow it down to subjects that are difficult for teachers to teach and students to understand.

“After that, either the script specialist or an experienced teacher in the particular topic will be called in to write the script.

“Together they will finalise the script before it is passed to the producer. The producer will then adapt it for television with the necessary visuals and graphics.

“We will then call in a presenter, usually a teacher to rehearse the script and present it. When everyone is familiar, then we will record”.

The process did not end there. George said the recording was then sent to a panel of teachers who will review and check for mistakes. It was only after this final step that the recording would be sent to RTM to air.

When the educational unit was first started, George said they were using makeshift studios.

“We realised the need for our own studio and the government provided around RM30 million for us to build one.

“With the help of technical people from the BBC and engineers from RTM, the Bukit Kiara complex was built, where all the departments were under one roof,” George recounted.

Afifah Mohd Radin, 73, also recalled a similar experience in producing educational radio or Radio Pendidikan. She was a primary school teacher in Kuala Lumpur from 1969 to 1976 before she joined Radio Pendidikan as a producer of English language programmes.

“As a producer I was required to produce a series of English language programmes for primary school.

“The first step was to prepare the scheme of the lessons. For this we invited officers from the curriculum development centre, schools division and a few English language teachers.”

The production process is different from TV in that the syllabus and presentation style had to suit the medium. The script writing and editing that followed was thoroughly scrutinised by the teachers and producers on the shows.

“The setback was usually not getting good scripts and the producer has to scout for other writers. Every script had to go through a production panel consisting of officers within Radio Pendidikan. Once approved, the producer then put in their creativity on each script, adding in sound effects and music where relevant,” she said.

The presenters were then selected from a voice audition. They were usually artists who were commissioned to read, act, play musical instruments and sing.

Like George, Afifah was also sent abroad for training as an education radio producer. She went for a four-month course with the BBC on Educational Radio Production and Presentation in 1981, followed by a summer course on TESL at the former Brighton Polytechnic in 1991. In between she also attended script writing courses at IPTAR.

“The courses that I attended helped to train me in production and presenting. The people in charge were always looking to improve our skills in producing, hence we were sent for many courses locally and abroad,” said Afifah.

In 1995, Radio Pendidikan stopped broadcasting, and Afifah and the rest of the producers were asked to join ETV. In 1997, she chose optional retirement.

Happy to volunteer at DidikTV

On February 17, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin launched DidikTV on a dedicated channel, having taken over NTV7. Content production is now owned by the Education Ministry and Media Prima.

DidikTV now replaces TV Pendidikan, which last aired in 2008.

“When it was closed, most of us who were involved in it for 20-30 years were very sad and upset. Why close something that was good for the children? From that time, we have been clamouring for them (the managers) to revive ETV but we were all retired and didn’t have much say,” George said.

While happy that DidikTV has finally started, George also said it was regretful that none of the former team were called to assist in the launch of the new channel.

“I can’t say why they never asked us for help, but that is how the government set up is; once you’re retired and gone, you’re forgotten.

“Many who worked at ETV have died and maybe the government thinks those who are still around are too old and cannot contribute,” George said.

He suggested the government set up an advisory panel with people who have experience in education television who are still healthy and ready to contribute, given their experience in producing education content, some of which won awards internationally.

“We will be happy to do it voluntarily.” – March 3, 2021.