Emilie Shimbali
Schools and community libraries should make more reading resources on Covid-19 prevention measures available to ensure learners are well equipped to prevent infection.
This was the call by Victoria Shikwambi, an inspector of education in the line ministry, during the celebration of the 2021 Readathon Week at the Fidel Castro Primary School in the Tobias Hainyeko constituency on Thursday.
Readathon is a week long series of reading activities at schools held to honour the ministry’s efforts to improve core numeracy and literacy skills, while emphasising the importance of reading in the lives of young people.
This year, it was observed from 20 to 24 September under the theme ‘Read Namibia: Prevent the Impacts of Covid-19 in the Education Landscape’.
“In response to the ongoing pandemic, we encourage all students, teachers, parents and everyone else to read about ways to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We believe that learning and reading about Covid-19 will assist schools in creating safe learning environments for both students and teachers,” Shikwambi said.
During the event, learners participated in Covid-19 general knowledge quizzes, read-aloud activities, reading a variety of books, and other related activities.
Also speaking at the event, Daisry Mathias, the presidential advisor on youth matters and enterprise development, encouraged learners to take reading seriously for their education.
“Reading is a powerful avenue for storytelling. When you read stories, you start to dream of things you want to see; you get to understand the world you live in, and your knowledge grows,” Mathias explained.
The Readathon programme also aims to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and encourage pre-primary and junior primary school learners to read for pleasure so they can address reading difficulties at an early age.