25 February 2009
Education in the Free State will receive another welcome boost when Sony
South Africa donates some 8 700 books to the Free State Department of Education
(FSDoE) to further stock their mobile libraries, through the intervention by
South Africa Primary Education Support Initiative (SAPESI).
On Thursday, 26 February, books collected from Sony group companies in seven
countries will be officially handed over to the MEC of the Free State
Department of Education at the Windmill Casino and Conference Centre in
Bloemfontein.
Sony Corporation, supporting SAPESIs efforts to contribute in overcoming the
challenges South Africa's compulsory education system, took the lead in the
campaign. Sony companies in UK English speaking countries, namely Sony UK, Sony
Australia, Sony New Zealand, Sony Hong Kong, Sony Singapore and Sony South
Africa called upon employees to donate English children's books.
Sony employees in the various countries donated 5 700 books. In addition,
Sony Corporation in Tokyo contributed funds to SAPESI in order to purchase a
further 3 000 children's books in languages indigenous to South Africa. This
donation was matched by the Free State Department of Education who then bought
another 3 000 books.
SAPESI, a Non Profit Organisation (NPO), and the FSDoE jointly launched the
"South Africa Mobile Library Project" in 2005 as part of the department's
efforts to improve literacy levels by lending books to learners and teachers at
primary and high schools across the province.
Through mediation by SAPESIs project co-ordinator in South Africa, Tadashi
Hasunuma, used mobile libraries from Japan are being acquired on an ongoing
basis. Provincial departments of education operate them to lend books to
learners and teachers at primary and high schools that do not have libraries.
Currently 21 mobile libraries are visiting 380 schools in four provinces (Free
State, Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal) on a daily basis.
The first two mobile libraries arrived in Bloemfontein from Yokohama, Japan,
in September 2006. Currently 43 schools in the Thabo Mofutsanyana and Motheo
districts in the Free State benefit from the two mobile libraries. It is
envisaged that six of these mobile libraries will eventually be in operation in
the Free State.
The issue of education in South Africa remains a key theme. While
initiatives carried out by the South African government have led to a primary
enrolment ratio exceeding 87%, the access to books â an indispensable tool for
literacy education is limited, and less than 5% of South African schools have a
library on site.
The main goals for the Mobile Library Project are to promote fluency in
reading, which is the basis of all further learning; to assist educators in
promoting literacy skills to learners; and to support the school curriculum
with a wide range of learning and teaching resources. Furthermore, it is hoped
that the concept of the mobile libraries will provide fun and excitement of
reading to the learners, rather than the traditional view that a library is a
place of study.
The South Africa Mobile Library Project provides learners with the
opportunity to interact with a wide range of books, while the librarians who
travel onboard the vehicles are also able to train teachers at the schools,
many of whom previously had only limited access to books themselves. This
contributes to an improved quality of education.
About SAPESI
SAPESI is a South African NPO that had jointly overseen the South African
Mobile Library Project with the South African Department of Education since the
project's initial launch in 1995. Previously, the organisation acted as an
intermediary between the South African Department of Education and a Japanese
NGO â Together with Africa and Asia Association (TAAA) which used to send
mobile libraries from Japan to South Africa at a rate of one or two vehicles a
year.
In 2007, SAPESI assumed responsibility for the acquisition and
transportation of the vehicles from this NGO. It is a recipient of Grant
Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects from the Embassy of Japan in
South Africa, and with support from the Society for Promotion of Japanese
Diplomacy (SPJD), it continues to acquire and transport (donate) used mobile
libraries to South Africa. SAPESI is also involved in the collection of books
for use in the mobile libraries, albeit on a limited scale.
About the South African Mobile Library Project
It is a joint project between the South African Department of Education and
SAPESI as part of the department's efforts to improve South Africa's literacy
levels. The project acquires used mobile libraries from Japan, where South
Africa's provincial departments of education operate them to provide the loan
of books to children and teachers at primary and high schools that do not
possess these resources.
The mobile libraries visit the recipient schools twice every school term to
loan and collect books. Librarians travel onboard the vehicles, and advise
teachers at schools how to select the appropriate books and use them in their
lessons, As a result, not only do the children gain an opportunity to interact
with a diverse range of books, but teachers are also able to learn how to
utilise the materials, and maximise their potential.
Furthermore, of the nine years of compulsory education received by South
African children, the first two years are spent learning to read and write one
of the country's official languages and from the third year almost all lessons
are carried out in English. Apart from Afrikaans and English, nine of South
Africa's eleven official languages are indigenous languages that have been
handed down by word of mouth, and with only a limited quantity of materials
written in these languages remaining, there are concerns that some of them may
fade out. At the same time, some students struggle to adapt to English which
starts from their third year and leave school without completing their
education. This had led to action from government and NGOs to promote the
uptake of books in both English and indigenous languages.
For further enquiries kindly contact:
Isaac Ntshauba
Cell: 079 624 7344
Solly Magalefa
Cell: 082 573 3404
Issued by: Department of Education, Free State Provincial Government
25 February 2009
