Speech delivered by the Minister of Basic Education Mrs. Angie Motshekga, MP, at the Drop All and Read Campaign held in Mamelodi, Gauteng
Programme Director,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Programme Director, it is with great joy and indeed an honour to be to be part of this congregation today to speak about the importance of reading in particular and literacy in general.
Today’s event occurs a mere 48 hours before the world celebrate the International Literacy Day on the 8th of September. Whether it’s reading or writing, literacy is an outlet to an untouchable world – your imagination. Not only is literacy a basic human right, it is a fundamental building block for learning as well as a personal empowerment tool. It is the catalyst for social and global progress.
We are gathered here to launch the most important operation in the basic education sector aptly named, Drop All and Read Campaign. The reading revolution is in line with this year Nelson Mandela Day sub-theme that focuses on reading and books. We hope Drop all and Read Campaign will help children and adults to rediscover the joys of reading while raising awareness for those without access to education.
At the outset I must tell you that South Africa does not have a reading culture. Reading statistics indicate that only 14% of South Africans are readers of books and only 5% of parents read to their children.
In our attempt to deal with the “elephant in the room,” we convened our very 1st Reading Roundtable earlier this year. At the Reading Roundtable, we engaged with various education stakeholders on ways and means to ignite the Reading Revolution.
The Reading Roundtable discussions were held under the theme “A Reading Nation is a Winning Nation”. Throughout the world, school education systems are focusing on literacy and numeracy initiatives as a means to improving the performance and learning outcomes. A learner’s ability to read, write and calculate is considered a vital toolkit in the pursuit of success and in managing life in general.
In this regard, we have moved with requisite speed to initiate many initiatives among them, the Drop all and Read Campaign. At the heart of this campaign is that all our schools have been advised through a circular to observe at least 30 minutes per week of mandatory reading as part of this programme. Beyond the reading at schools, we are encouraging families, churches and communities to reinforce the Drop All and Read Campaign at home and at various community engagements.
Our ultimate prize is to make Drop All and Read Campaign a regular established part of both children and parents’ daily routine.
Programme Director I must stress that our reading campaign started early this year and it involves more than just school going children. We have just completed a nationwide reading promotion roadshows in June and July to raise awareness about the importance of reading under the auspices of our Adult Mass Literacy Campaign dubbed Kha Ri Gude.
Programme Director at the core of our efforts is our deliberate determination that in-order to improve literacy and reduce the number of learner drop outs, we must make reading fashionable. However, we cannot do this without providing fully functioning libraries in our schools. We view libraries as a key player because they have a role in almost all of these literacy factors - from access to materials and training to promotion and cooperation. The role of libraries in our view is to offer our learners more than just prescribed books but reading material that will expand their horizon beyond the confines of their schools and villages.
In this regard we have declared Reading Library and Information Services (RLIS) an apex priority.
Hence in July, in a bid to make reading fashionable, we launched the 1 000 School Libraries Campaign to target all needy schools per year from 2015 until 2019. The launch event held at uVuyo Primary School, Dobsonville, Soweto, we announced that by the end of July, the construction of 18 new libraries (two in each province) will be completed and resourced with the required reading materials. We said all new libraries will be Information Communication Technology (ICT) enabled and compliant. I am glad to announce that the target has been met.
As part of this project [1000 School Libraries Campaign] we also held a business breakfast to mobilise the private sector and non-governmental organisations to partner with us in-order to ensure that all libraries have all required reading materials to make them both viable and sustainable. I am glad to report today that the support we have received is overwhelming.
We are also hard at work steering the formation of Reading Clubs, Spelling Bee projects as well as Book Flood Campaign throughout the country. I appeal to you today to donate at least one book for the benefit of our young learners. Book collections points are scattered all around the major shopping malls throughout Gauteng.
In addition in June 2015, 1000 schools offering Grades 1-3 implemented the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA). The EGRA is an international benchmarked assessment which assesses reading proficiency through letter sound recognition, word recognition and passage and comprehension. Over and above this, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) now gives high weighting to reading and writing skills in Grades R to 12. We have also completed the implementation of the Reading Norms for Grades R-12.
Indeed, we are a country at work. South Africa is today a better place than it was 21 years. Programme Director, all our efforts will come to nought if we do not have the full support of parents, caregivers and communities.
What Parents and Caregivers Can Do?
It is therefore my plea today that parents [those who are literate] must read to children form when they are small, even before they can talk. Parents talk and sing to babies, and that is how they learn to talk. Reading to them is part of this process.
If parents read to children daily, even after they have learnt to read themselves, they associate reading and books with closeness, caring and happiness. They develop a love for books that is likely to last throughout life. They also learn how a book works and how it is handled. This gives them a head start when they go to school.
Parents or caregivers who cannot read should tell their children stories and let the children look at picture books and make up their own stories. Listening to stories, whether they are read or told, is enjoyable and creates an appetite for more stories, which encourages children to learn to read.
It is just as important that crèches and pre-schools should read, tell stories and allow children to become familiar with books.
When children have learnt to read, every household should have at least half an hour reading time in the evening where everybody in the home, including the adults, read for pleasure. This is just as important as homework or household tasks.
The example set by the adults is very important. Reading materials can be any suitable written matter – newspaper or magazine articles (if suitable for the age level), library books including storybooks and non-fiction or comics. Even during exams learners need this period of relaxation.
Parents and caregivers should try to ensure, if at all possible, that there is a quiet, comfortable place to read in the home. Allow the children to read in bed. This increases the amount they read.
It is important for children to own their own books. Parents should consider buying books rather than expensive toys, branded clothes or snacks. Giving books to children as presents is a good idea.
If at all possible, parents should join and make use of the public library and assist their children to join the library, visit it and borrow books. This can happen even before they go to school. Public libraries often have enjoyable activities for children that further promote reading. If the school has a library, parents should encourage their children to make use of it and borrow books to read at home.
Encouraging your child to read and making it pleasant to read is probably the most valuable thing a parent can do to help a child with school and in life.
What Religious and Community Organisations Can Do?
I am making an earnest appeal to this congregation to also regularly highlight the importance of reading for personal and social development, not only the reading of the Bible and religious literature. We must extend the reading scope to include reading for pleasure. Encourage church members to set aside time in their homes to Drop All and Read. We can also encourage all church members join and make use of the public library if possible.
Members of religious and community organisations can play a very useful role in promoting reading by setting up and running reading clubs for children and adults. It is more effective if reading clubs are not seen as part of the school programme, but as something that is done for fun.
The facilities of churches and other organisations can be used fruitfully during the week by being made available as quiet and comfortable reading spaces, under supervision of course.
The venues of religious and community organisations can be used as collection points for book donations. The organisations can encourage their members and others to donate suitable books and magazines in good condition.
The books can be kept to be used for the reading clubs, books for little ones can be donated to crèches and preschools, and suitable magazines and books of which there are extra copies can even be donated to families. The members of religious organisations that have contacts with businesses can approach the business for donations for the reading clubs.
Communities can play an important role in ensuring that schools have effective libraries by showing an interest in the school library, encouraging the school to set up a library and use the allocated budget to buy library books, and volunteering to help with the school library. A person does not have to be a teacher or a librarian to help ensure that the library is open outside of school hours, cover books, paste in date sheets and book pockets, keep the library tidy or even issue and return books.
Members of the community can also volunteer to read or tell stories to learners in schools. It is very important that adults in the community serve as reading role models.
Religious and community organisations play a leading role in our communities, and are also in a position to lead in the promotion of reading in the community. We are looking forward to working together for a successful nation. To assist the efforts to promote reading in the community the Department of Basic Education is donating a collection of books to the church today.
In conclusion, I must emphasise that literacy impacts on society in several ways namely, literate parents are more likely to send their children to school; literate people are better able to access continuing educational opportunities; and literate societies are better geared to meet pressing development.
Dr. Richard Mitchell former professor of English and classics at Glassboro State College in Glassboro said: “Literacy is not, as it is considered in our schools, a portion of education. It is education. It is at once the ability and the inclination of the mind to find knowledge, to pursue understanding, and out of knowledge and understanding to make judgments.”
Thank you for your support.
