Children’s Literary Festival: Stories on hard work, travelling shared

Education minister announces that he will soon sponsor a public school in his area .

LAHORE: Importance of education, hard work and travelling were amongst the main themes covered in stories read out to students from three public schools at a session held in Gulshan-i-Ravi area on Tuesday.

Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed, who represents the area in the provincial assembly, read Amjad Islam Amjad’s poem Hum Hain Phoolon Key Rakhwalay (We Are the Protectors of Flowers) to the children. Later, he addressed the students and asked them to always prefer hard work over looking out for shortcuts. The minister said education was a priority area for the provincial government. He announced that he would soon be sponsoring a public school in his constituency.

The session titled Unlocking the Power of Reading was part of a Children’s Literary Festival organised in the area by the Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi (ITA). It was attended by 250 students from Government High School for Girls, Gulshan-i-Ravi; Government Islamia High School for Boys; and City District Government Boys High School. A large collection of children’s books in Urdu and English language were displayed on stalls set up at the venue.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Baela Raza Jamil, the ITA programmes director, said the purpose of the event was to encourage school children to develop an interest in reading. The participants particularly enjoyed performances by ITA members on some of the stories as they were being read out to them.

Several children also volunteered to read out stories at the session. They were later given tips by ITA staff to improve their reading skills.

Bilal Ashiq, a 9th grade student, said he enjoyed reading out at the session. He said the minister’s advice about importance of hard work resonated with his parents’ counsel who always advised him to work hard so that he would excel in his studies.

Waqar Tariq, a 7th grade student, said he liked the session because it was different from a typical day in school. “It was a lot more interactive compared to our classroom sessions. This helps in learning new things,”

Zainab Nasir, a 6th grade student, she would now regularly read out stories to her parents and siblings.

A similar session would be held in the area on May 6.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2015.