Lack of facilities blamed for declining reading trend in schools
Speakers stress conducive environment necessary to develop interest
photo: express
LAHORE:
A lack of resources, infrastructure and facilities such as libraries in government schools is the basic reason for a decline in reading habit among children, said speakers during a session of Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) on Sunday.
“To develop the reading habit among children, schoolteachers should create a friendly environment in classrooms,” a panellist said.
These views were expressed on the final day of LLF in a session titled ‘How to make students read more’ in Alhamra Hall 3. Non-governmental organisation SAHE’s Managing Director Abbas Rashid, educationist Mehar Rahman, educationist Amna Khalid, Nadia Parveen, Maher Janeen Agha and businessperson Sayed Babar Ali were among the speakers in the session. They discussed the various aspects of developing reading habits among children. A large number of students, children and other participants attended the session.
“When teachers create interest among children to read at an early age, then other aspects of teaching become effortless,” the speakers added. “Reading habit is a basic thing for future life and personality development of schoolchildren.”
The dropout ratio among children is increasing in schools and there is need for our teachers to realise how much reading habits are important nowadays, they further said. “It is important that teachers know about the interests of their students and also observe which languages the children take interest in and read.”
Teachers should not overburden students and just see that concepts and fluency of the kids are improving instead of focusing on other things, said Rashid. “In current era, we should engage children regarding reading books. Our education system is not appreciable in this regard as there are many issues, including lack of resources.”
In Gilgit-Baltistan there are also issues of a lack of infrastructure but things are getting better with the help of UNESCO and other NGOs, he added. “The entire focus of schoolteachers is on curriculum and completion of course. In such a system, we are ignoring the importance of book reading.”
For improving reading habits, teachers should encourage students and offer the best environment to them, said Parveen.
“We should allow some freedom to children to select books according to their choice and not impose our suggestions on them. Teachers should observe and know how much children understand what they read.”
Schoolteachers should also arrange reading activities at class that encourage students, said Khalid. “We should train teachers according to the demands and challenges of the 21st century. Things are changing: the environment in classes and schools are changing along with developments around the world.”
Demand in job markets has changed around the world and teachers should keep up with such developments in schools, said Agha.
Teachers should try to become mentors and ideals for their students and also improve their interaction with children, said Ali.
Meanwhile, on the final day of the LLF, a group of girls, mostly students and supporters of the ‘Aurat March’, held a demonstration. The girls chanted slogans for women’s rights in the country and also narrated the stories of women who are struggling in the society.
“We will arrange a march that will commence from Lahore Press Club and end at Alhamra,” said a participant. “This year, Aurat March will be celebrated with a vision to encourage more female participants for their rights.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2020.
A lack of resources, infrastructure and facilities such as libraries in government schools is the basic reason for a decline in reading habit among children, said speakers during a session of Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) on Sunday.
“To develop the reading habit among children, schoolteachers should create a friendly environment in classrooms,” a panellist said.
These views were expressed on the final day of LLF in a session titled ‘How to make students read more’ in Alhamra Hall 3. Non-governmental organisation SAHE’s Managing Director Abbas Rashid, educationist Mehar Rahman, educationist Amna Khalid, Nadia Parveen, Maher Janeen Agha and businessperson Sayed Babar Ali were among the speakers in the session. They discussed the various aspects of developing reading habits among children. A large number of students, children and other participants attended the session.
“When teachers create interest among children to read at an early age, then other aspects of teaching become effortless,” the speakers added. “Reading habit is a basic thing for future life and personality development of schoolchildren.”
The dropout ratio among children is increasing in schools and there is need for our teachers to realise how much reading habits are important nowadays, they further said. “It is important that teachers know about the interests of their students and also observe which languages the children take interest in and read.”
Teachers should not overburden students and just see that concepts and fluency of the kids are improving instead of focusing on other things, said Rashid. “In current era, we should engage children regarding reading books. Our education system is not appreciable in this regard as there are many issues, including lack of resources.”
In Gilgit-Baltistan there are also issues of a lack of infrastructure but things are getting better with the help of UNESCO and other NGOs, he added. “The entire focus of schoolteachers is on curriculum and completion of course. In such a system, we are ignoring the importance of book reading.”
For improving reading habits, teachers should encourage students and offer the best environment to them, said Parveen.
“We should allow some freedom to children to select books according to their choice and not impose our suggestions on them. Teachers should observe and know how much children understand what they read.”
Schoolteachers should also arrange reading activities at class that encourage students, said Khalid. “We should train teachers according to the demands and challenges of the 21st century. Things are changing: the environment in classes and schools are changing along with developments around the world.”
Demand in job markets has changed around the world and teachers should keep up with such developments in schools, said Agha.
Teachers should try to become mentors and ideals for their students and also improve their interaction with children, said Ali.
Meanwhile, on the final day of the LLF, a group of girls, mostly students and supporters of the ‘Aurat March’, held a demonstration. The girls chanted slogans for women’s rights in the country and also narrated the stories of women who are struggling in the society.
“We will arrange a march that will commence from Lahore Press Club and end at Alhamra,” said a participant. “This year, Aurat March will be celebrated with a vision to encourage more female participants for their rights.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2020.