Reversing the declining trend in the reading habits of the youth – Let's support Readwide

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“The report by the Chief Examiner of the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) has identified candidates' inability to read and comprehend questions correctly as the cause of student's low grades.”

This was the opening paragraph of a story carried in the front page of the Friday, July 11, 2008 edition of the Ghanaian Times.

According to the story, the Minister for Education, Science and Sports, Prof. Dominic Fobih, in response to a question as to why about half of the 320,235 Junior High School (JHS) students who sat for the 2007 Basic Education Certificate Examination had failed, had disclosed that to improve on the situation, the Ministry had introduced comprehensive measures, including the cultivation of reading habits among school children.

47.8 per cent of the 320,235 JHS students who sat for the 2007 BECE had failed to obtain between aggregate six and 30 which is the cut-off point for placement into the Senior High Schools (SHS) and Technical Institutes.

The reasons attributed by the Chief Examiners' Report for the large number of failures are significant and manifest a looming danger of producing a generation of ignorant people, unless the current decline in the reading habit of the country's youth is arrested.

It was, indeed, to avert the danger, long foreseen, that Readwide Limited is promoting reading by encouraging Ghanaians, particularly the youth, to cultivate the habit of reading.

Reading provides one of the mediums for knowledge acquisition. And, in business to promote reading, and committed to ensuring that every Ghanaian child forms the habit of reading at an early age, Readwide Limited has embarked upon the “Read For Life/Ghana Reads Campaign” which is aimed at getting children to cultivate the habit of reading.

The year-long campaign, to be renewed every year, consists of a number of activities, including the formation of Reading or Book Clubs in schools and colleges, and the use of football stars and music to promote reading.

Currently, Reading Clubs are being established in schools and colleges, members of which are regularly engaged in activities like spelling competitions, debates and essay competitions, among others.

Readwide has recently hosted Derek Boateng, renowned international football icon, to interact with selected members of the Readwide Reading Club and has also, in collaboration with Ghanaian musician, Obour, produced a musical video.

Apart from these, Readwide is also in partnership with Junior Graphic to provide a platform for children to show their creative talents by participating in the “Price Letter” promotion, a competition designed for children between six and twelve years, for which book prizes, among others, will be awarded to the winner.

Readwide has also sustained its sponsorship of the “Readwide What Do You Know” competition, a GTV/Unique FM brain teaser. It is also organizing what it calls the Readwide Reading Festival in November 2008.

Certainly, Readwide Ltd. cannot succeed in its efforts at encouraging the youth to read, without the support of others.

Indeed, the Minister for Education, Science and Sports had disclosed to Parliament that it had introduced comprehensive measures, including the cultivation of reading habits to improve upon student's performance at the BECE.

In truth, reading periods on school timetables cannot be left out of such measures, while school children would also have to be encouraged to visit libraries at designated periods. Support from religious organizations are also crucial. Churches and other religious groups must organize reading sessions and reading competitions on church anniversaries and youth festivals for the youth.

In this effort at enhancing literacy for national development through reading, Readwide regards the media's role as critical.

Readwide Ltd. has, therefore, called on the media to support it achieve the objective. And, indeed, support could take the form of radio programmes on reading. The print media can also lend support by making space or columns available for specially designed messages targeted at positively influencing the behavior pattern of the youth towards reading.

This much needed support from the media is, however, apparently not being offered as noted by the Director of Readwide Ltd., Mr. Ansah Asare, at its third quarter media briefing in Accra on August 1, 2008.

Mr. Asare had expressed regrets that an attempt to reach out to the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to partner Readwide in its efforts at promoting the cultivation of reading habits in the youth did not yield the desired results, the GJA having not responded to the overture.

A humble appeal is, therefore, being made to the media not to let Readwide Ltd. down; for, there is every indication that Readwide has confidence in the ability of the media and is prepared to depend upon the media to support it achieve its objectives of promoting reading among the youth. The GJA must, therefore, be seen to be in the forefront, more especially when it is Readwide that is making the overtures.

Credit: G.D. Zaney [The writer is an officer of the Information Services Department]
Source: www.ghana.gov.gh