EENHANA – Many learners and students here admit to limiting their reading only to school textbooks with magazines and/or newspapers being no nearer to being on their reading lists.
On the contrary smart phones seems to be the major occupation of learners and students, an phenomenon that is fast eroding the reading culture among the youth. In the olden days, children would glue their eyes to the Reader’s Digest, Pacesetters, and other various collections from libraries as a way of cultivating a reading culture among themselves, but somehow that culture is lost. A reading culture can best be described as a learned process of seeking knowledge or information and can be acquired by reading books.
In a survey conducted by Youth Corner here in the Ohangwena region, many learners and students admitted to have little time visiting libraries or not having libraries at their schools or in their communities. It is also noted that the decline in reading amongst most Namibian learners is an offshoot of technology, which has a negative impact as reading is not considered a relevant leisure activity by many teenagers as they would rather spend time on social networks. “It is through reading that we can broaden our understanding of life, but we do not have books or other material to read except those in our curriculum at our school and books are very expensive so we opt to spend our time on social network sites,” says Ben Simasiku, a student at Leynfas College here. He adds that they only read textbooks to pass examinations and not as a recreational activity.
Reading is one of the basic things a child learns in early stages of formal education. They feel motivated when their parents read with them.But how many parents still take time to read with their children or encourage them to be wide readers? “As a parent of school going children, I encourage them to read academic books as well as novels and newspapers on a daily basis. As parents, we should make it a policy to encourage them to read even when they don’t have homework. They should also join reading clubs or groups at school, church or in community libraries so that they become avid readers,” says Phillipus Festus, a parent with children currently attending school at the St Mary Odibo High School in Ohangwena region.
Libraries play an important role in the promotion of reading habits, however these libraries are either non-existent or not playing their expected role. A Community Librarian here, Susan Kanahole, says educators need to emphasise the importance of extensive reading among students as they only visit libraries to read their school books related to their curriculum or syllabus. “We need to have regular readers who swallow all kinds of information, hence educators in schools should teach the learners and students the importance of education training, moulding and encouraging them to broaden their horizons by reading and frequenting libraries,” say Kanahole.
By Clemence Tashaya