BBC axes online education service.

Today's article is from the MediaGuardian.co.uk by Jason Deans.

The BBC Trust has confirmed it is scrapping online education service BBC Jam, following complaints from commercial rivals. BBC Jam will be suspended from next Tuesday, March 20. BBC management has been asked by the trust to draw up new proposals for a formal education and learning online service.

Management's new plans will then be put through a public value test by the BBC Trust, including a market impact assessment by Ofcom.

In January, MediaGuardian revealed that the rollout of BBC Jam had been suspended for an indefinite period following the government's decision to investigate the corporation's educational public service content.

The trust today said its decision followed extensive discussions with the government and the European Commission about how to deal with allegations from industry rivals that BBC Jam was damaging their interests.

The corporation started a high-profile marketing campaign for BBC Jam, aimed at five- to 16-year-olds last autumn. The launch of the campaign was hosted by the director general, Mark Thompson.

The entire £150m, five-year project was initially given the go-ahead subject to it meeting 17 tough licence conditions to ensure that the content was appropriately public service. Around half the budget has been spent so far.

BBC Jam employs around 200 staff in house, with 50% of the content commissioned from independent producers.

The first elements of the service were soft-launched in January 2006 and only around 10% of the planned output is currently available online.

The Jam service, which can be accessed for free via broadband, consists of single-subject areas, from helping children to read and write, to teaching business skills, languages and geography. They can be used in the classroom, at home, by individual children, by parents with children, or as a classroom aid by teachers.

The modules use devices such as computer games techniques, music, jingles and interactivity to hold a child's attention. Jam is seen as part of the BBC's mission to educate, and is based on the national curriculum.