Review educational curriculum to ensure enhanced reading competence – Rashed
The Upper East Region has marked this year’s International Children’s Book Day with a call on policy makers to review the educational curriculum to ensure that reading competencies are enhanced at all stages in the school system.
The Day which is set aside annually to celebrate the life of “Hans Children Anderson”, a renowned writer, who wrote 168 children’s fairy tales, was characterized by readings, poetry recitals and debates.
Mr Anaffu Tee Rashed, the Municipal Language Coordinator of the Ghana Education Service (GES), said the current educational policy did not give room for the measurement of reading competencies at the various stages of education in the country.
He blamed the poor reading culture on the lack of such a policy and proposed that policy makers review the educational policy to ensure that reading competencies were measurable at the lower and upper primaries.“This will make students to be able to read very well and become independent learners when they reach the Senior High School level,” he said.
Whilst stressing the need to institute local and national award schemes to motivate and encourage more pupils and students to patronize reading more to make them responsible, he entreated teachers and parents to instill reading culture in children at the early stages.
Speaking on the theme, “A reading Nation is a Winning Nation”, Mr Leslie Kansanga, the Regional Librarian, said most of the challenges confronting the nation could be resolved if all Ghanaians could read.
He said a lot of illnesses could be reduced if majority of Ghanaians particularly the rural folks could read to know the causes of diseases and how to help prevent them.
Mr Kansanga said unlike before the regional library was now endowed and equipped with good books ranging from the lower to the tertiary level as well Information Communication tools such as internet facilities and called on parents to urge their wards to patronize the facility.
Mr Hillary Adongo, the Chairman for the occasion, urged the pupils to aspire higher on the academic ladder.
Source: GNA