The Tema Metropolitan Education Directorate has launched a reading programme for basic schools in the metropolis to encourage reading among pupils.
The programme is to help children to appreciate the importance of reading and commit themselves to reading as much as possible.
Speaking at the launch of the programme, the Tema Metropolitan Director of Education, Mrs. Veronica P. Adzato-Ntem bemoaned the poor reading habits among pupils and added that the inability of pupils to read often translated into poor results at the Basic Education Certificate Examination and the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, hence, the commencement of the project.
Mrs Adzato-Ntem said reading was a life-long asset and needed a strong foundation to build on.
She appealed to stakeholders in education, especially parents and teachers, to help their children by encouraging them to develop the habit of reading.
The Coordinator of the project, Mr Wisdom K. Agbeviade, said the issues concerning reading and creative writing had not been encouraging in the society.
He said in recent times, pupils could be found glued to television sets watching a soap opera or with a mobile phone either on “facebook” or “WhatsApp” platforms instead of reading a book.
“The desire to read a story book is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Society and the educational sector cannot sit unconcerned. The problem of bad reading habits now stares us in the face,” he stressed.
Dubbed the “Read for life Project” the programme would among other things entail the formation of readers and writers clubs in all basic schools for a start and later be extended to private schools. Pupils would be required to read one story book a term and the books would be selected on class basis that is, from Kindergarten One to Junior High School Three.
The maiden competition would begin from this month and the winners would be awarded during the Independence Day anniversary celebration.
At the launch of the project, the Greater Accra Regional Director of Education, Mrs Felicia Boakye-Yiadom, appealed to teachers in the Tema Metropolis to commit themselves to the project since reading is the foundation for academic excellence.
