BBC Cancels Online Education Project Amidst Commercial Pressure
May 17th, 2007
Amidst complaints from commercial educators, the BBC recently canceled its Free Online Education program, BBC Jam. The online program corresponded with national curriculum and provided 5- to 16-year-olds with educational material at no cost.
Here's a blurb about BBC Jam's cancellation from The Independent:
"Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesman Don Foster said: 'This ongoing farce is far from the BBC's finest hour. The decision to suspend BBC Jam before the European Commission had even reached a judgment seems ludicrous.
BBC Jam was meant to represent a new era in the education services the BBC is known the world over for. Instead the Trust seems more concerned with damage limitation.'"
The cancellation is definitely bad news for kids, who must pay commercial providers for educational help the BBC would have provided free-of-charge.
A small consolation is that the BBC continues to offer a number of free online educational programs for adults including free language classes, writing courses, first-aid training, and more. For a list of free classes see: Free Online BBC Classes.
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