Guyana Learning Channel
The Guyana Learning Channel (GLC) is a network of six educational television channels in Guyana owned by the Guyana Learning Channel Trust, which, in turn, is owned by the Ministry of Education. The channels broadcast mainly educational programs; feature films are also broadcast in prime time, followed by a repeat of the daytime schedule.
History
The Ministry of Education announced the creation of GLC on September 16, 2010, and launched it on April 1, 2011, initially with the bulk of its programming coming from abroad, being criticized for the lack of relevant local content. A five-year contract with Television Guyana was signed in 2010 to carry the signal nationwide by satellite. Around May, its signal expanded to Berbice on channel 3, fed by satellite, prone to periodic interruptions.
Beginning in June 2016, the channel started carrying "programmes of national interest", among them being agricultural programs. As of 2013, it had owned 20 satellite dishes, 16 dish stands, 17 antennas, 17 receivers and installation by means of nearly $7 million coming from TVG.
In 2020, GLC's coverage area in the hinterland increased significantly, enabling its wide coverage in areas with limited internet reach. From April 2021, it was made available in Region Nine.
In June 2021, the channel premiered Whiz Kids to prepare Grade Six students for the National Assessment. On September 16, 2023, the network premiered The Amazing World of Cho, a local animated series featuring a girl from the hinterland.
Criticism and controversies
Lack of local programming
Since the beginning, GLC was heavily dependent on foreign programming, with its local output being heavily limited. In its first few weeks on air, such output largely consisted of brief segments, such as one where schoolchildren sang Guyanese patriotic songs. The channel at the time also lacked efficient methods of contacting, such as a lack of website and phone number.
Quality of local programming
On the night of September 24, 2014, a program about maths was criticized in a letter to Stabroek News where the teacher used a flip chart which, according to the complaint, failed to convey its subject matter effectively.
Swearing controversy
The channel was put into hot water by Guyanese netizens on October 12, 2020, after airing a video called "English Abbreviations", in which the swear word fuck (as in the expression "what the fuck") was repeated eight times. The channel apologized for the airing of the video and an investigation was launched.