READING IS IMPORTANT (PAGE 18)

“READING maketh a man.” This short but important phrase sums up the essence of reading to man’s existence on earth.
Apart from enriching one’s language and his ability to understand issues, it also broadens one’s mind as he/she learns about every subject and topic under the sun thus, making them dynamic in their ways of life.
The reason for the inability of pupils and students to understand topics and questions during examination is therefore, not far fetched: majority of them do not simply read. For that matter, they are unable to appreciate questions and express themselves well in their deliveries.
A lot of reasons have been ascribed for these shortcomings. They include the lack of reading materials and interest by students, the proliferation of modern electronic gadgets and information and communication technology facilities such as television and video decks and the Internet, as well as the failure by parents and guardians to encourage and monitor the reading habits of their wards.
It is, therefore, no wonder that majority of pupils and students fail miserably in the English language in their Basic and Senior Secondary Education Certification Examinations.
It is disheartening to note that 43 per cent of pupils and over 61 per cent out of the 4,460 candidates who sat for the BECE and SSSCE in 2008 failed in English, respectively in the Tamale metropolis alone.
The situation is not different in other parts of the country, particularly in the rural districts.
Indeed, it is for these reasons that matters concerning the promotion of reading must receive the needed attention of the government and other stakeholders to enrich the vocabulary and also widen the scope of young men and women at all levels in the education system.
One such effort that is worthy of note in the promotion of the culture and habit of reading, is that of the Ghana Book Publishers Association (GBPA).
The association is preparing towards the celebration of its eighth Ghana international book fair in Accra that would be held at the National theatre in Accra in November on the theme: “Books as cultural tools for development: a reading nation is a winning nation”.
According to the President of the GBPA, Mr Asare Canoed Yamoah, the book fair that was recently launched in Accra, is a cultural event aimed at projecting the country’s literary culture.
He expressed concern that, currently, reading had become a laborious pastime for most Ghanaians, recalling that “in the past, the enthusiasm of Ghanaians to read was monumental; publishers at the time could sell 30,000 and over novels in a year.”
Mr Yamoah stated that to help reverse that situation, the Government should as a matter of importance, change its policy on book purchases and also resource the Ghana library board with adequate reading materials, including supplementary ones to schools and colleges.
“In former times, schools had active libraries, timetables had periods for library and reading and community libraries were fashionable,” he stated.
The president, who is also the publisher of ADAEX Educational Publications Limited, added that “today, all these brilliant innovations have dwindled to the disadvantage of our education; the standards of spoken and written English and other Ghanaian languages are not the best today.”
“These trend must change and a conscious effort by the government and all Ghanaians to invest in these critical areas of national development” he stressed.













































“READING maketh a man.” This short but important phrase sums up the essence of reading to man’s existence on earth.
Apart from enriching one’s language and his ability to understand issues, it also broadens one’s mind as he/she learns about every subject and topic under the sun thus, making them dynamic in their ways of life.
The reason for the inability of pupils and students to understand topics and questions during examination is therefore, not far fetched: majority of them do not simply read. For that matter, they are unable to appreciate questions and express themselves well in their deliveries.
A lot of reasons have been ascribed for these shortcomings. They include the lack of reading materials and interest by students, the proliferation of modern electronic gadgets and information and communication technology facilities such as television and video decks and the Internet, as well as the failure by parents and guardians to encourage and monitor the reading habits of their wards.
It is, therefore, no wonder that majority of pupils and students fail miserably in the English language in their Basic and Senior Secondary Education Certification Examinations.
It is disheartening to note that 43 per cent of pupils and over 61 per cent out of the 4,460 candidates who sat for the BECE and SSSCE in 2008 failed in English, respectively in the Tamale metropolis alone.
The situation is not different in other parts of the country, particularly in the rural districts.
Indeed, it is for these reasons that matters concerning the promotion of reading must receive the needed attention of the government and other stakeholders to enrich the vocabulary and also widen the scope of young men and women at all levels in the education system.
One such effort that is worthy of note in the promotion of the culture and habit of reading, is that of the Ghana Book Publishers Association (GBPA).
The association is preparing towards the celebration of its eighth Ghana international book fair in Accra that would be held at the National theatre in Accra in November on the theme: “Books as cultural tools for development: a reading nation is a winning nation”.
According to the President of the GBPA, Mr Asare Canoed Yamoah, the book fair that was recently launched in Accra, is a cultural event aimed at projecting the country’s literary culture.
He expressed concern that, currently, reading had become a laborious pastime for most Ghanaians, recalling that “in the past, the enthusiasm of Ghanaians to read was monumental; publishers at the time could sell 30,000 and over novels in a year.”
Mr Yamoah stated that to help reverse that situation, the Government should as a matter of importance, change its policy on book purchases and also resource the Ghana library board with adequate reading materials, including supplementary ones to schools and colleges.
“In former times, schools had active libraries, timetables had periods for library and reading and community libraries were fashionable,” he stated.
The president, who is also the publisher of ADAEX Educational Publications Limited, added that “today, all these brilliant innovations have dwindled to the disadvantage of our education; the standards of spoken and written English and other Ghanaian languages are not the best today.”
“These trend must change and a conscious effort by the government and all Ghanaians to invest in these critical areas of national development” he stressed.