THE CULTURE OF READING; A CRITICAL TOOL FOR POVERTY ERADICATION.
Honorable
Mayor, Directors of education, partners in education, fellow educators, ladies
and gentlemen of the press,
Reading can
best be described as the one single aspect of education that is foremost when
it comes to formal education. The reality for all students and teachers is
that, there is no single subject that does not require that the student read
from a book or an electronic device. It is quite clear that without reading,
formal education as we know it will cease to exist. In the ancient past when
oral tradition was the norm, a lot of education, very useful information that
could have saved the world was lost because none of these could be written down
for future generations.
Ancient Egypt blazed the trail when a lot of
history, medical science and mythology was written down in hieroglyphic text
for smart scholars to discover and decipher and for our generation and those
before us to learn from.
Today, writing in different languages are out
there for us to read and imbibe. The internet is awash with loads of
information for all to read and learn. Reading is one culture that has come to
rescue humanity from the poverty of want and desolation. Archaeologists have,
and still search for ancient scripts that were buried thousands of years
ago...and for one single reason.
Their
untiring effort is for knowledge, written down long ago by scholars. This is
how we got our Bible, Dead Sea scrolls and other scriptures.
When an
invading army set the library in Alexandria on fire, it was a strategic
military move to strip the people of all knowledge in order to prepare them for
slavery and dominance. Knowledge is definitely power in the hands of those who
know how to use it and you must know how to read to put all that information to
good use. In our villages, the village postmaster, headteacher or catechist
wields uncommon power even over the unlettered chief and his elders because he
gets to read all their letters and documents.
We are what we are today because we can read
the words of great people, the research of great minds and the solutions that
make us financially sound and scientifically rich. But for reading, how could
we have discovered all the ancient technologies so we can improve upon them;
the advances of agricultural science so we can practice safe cropping for a
bumper harvest and the visible advances of medical research by leaps and bounds
for good health and longevity.
In this
digital world, it is clear and obvious that there is nothing like a good
old-fashion hardcopy book. People join still join long queues in order to
purchase the first few copies of hardcopy books immediately these books are
released into bookshops by publishers. Even the most technologically advanced
countries have hardcopy books in their libraries.
Books, it has been said, hold knowledge as such, a
reading society is obviously knowledgeable. From time immemorial various forms
of instructions and contents which are valuable to human existence and
development have been kept in books. This has helped in the development of many
countries and cultures. In Ghana, the government is passionate about providing
quality universal and holistic education to all the children of school going
age. This cannot be achieved if we do not inculcate the reading culture into
the up and coming generation. It is against this background that Gnacops, is
partnering the National Readers Association to, not just repeat the need to
read, but has taken a pragmatic step to make sure that every Ghanaian child,
especially those in the private schools have access to book, by making
available free books to the schools.
The utmost antidote to ignorance is reading which
equip the child with credible knowledge for human development. There is
therefore the need to inculcate the culture of reading in the up and coming
generation. The pupils under our tutelage are being nurtured to take over the
mantle of leadership in some years to come. We have to bear in mind that a
readerless generation will be detrimental to the production of visionary and
development minded leaders.
As the world grapples the various human
developmental problems and seeks to achieve the various aspects in the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we, in Ghana cannot play the ostrich by
pretending there is little or no problems with our educational systems. Reading
therefore will help the child have a wide range of knowledge in what is
happening in both the immediate and remote environment. Since the books cover
all aspects of human endeavours. It will also teach the child how to use
available knowledge to solve societal problems and to develop the society and
humanity. Eventually, it will help to produce independent minded citizens and
leaders who are not just academicians but are highly imbued with spiritual and
moral integrity.
Today, as GNACOPS in collaboration the National
Readers Association launch this “Operation Read a Book a Day”, by distributing free books to the private schools, we believe that it will help
boost the standards of academics in the private schools in Ghana. This will go
a long way to help develop the Ghanaian child to that a leadership role in the
worlds arena.
In conclusion, I will urge all managers of schools
who have received the book to make sure that it is made available to the pupils
and not kept in the shelfs as a form of display. Gnacops will put in place a
monitoring mechanism to ensure the books reaches it appropriate users and
further more put to the intended use.
GNACOPS in collaboration with the National Readers
Association will want to assure all of you that within the shortest possible
time, every private school in Ghana will have a well stock library.
Thank You
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