Last week, a forum of secondary teachers was thrown into disarray when a political leader in Kawempe accused schools of killing the country’s reading culture.
According to this local government official, schools are responsible for training everyone on how to read and write. Thus, he found it ironic that many school graduates are reluctant to return to reading as a way of life.
The concern is a well-worn one, with several former students and educationists bemoaning the low reading culture in Uganda. However, few have been as bold to point out why this is so. But from the offerings of this local government official, children are suffering early.
From a young age, once children learn how to read and write – little energy is expended to interest them in the newly acquired skills. Instead, the children are then piled high with homework and other writing assignments.
By P7, teachers routinely pile their learners with notes, which they are required to cram ahead of examinations. This practice continues into secondary school, and later up to college or university.
Thus few, who finally graduate, are willing to return to reading as a habit. The pressure of passing exams makes sure those who make it are exhausted by the incessant reading for the next level of learning.
Teachers and other instructors need to make reading and writing a pleasurable activity that rewards learners, rather than a chore that they can’t avoid. Students need to be encouraged to develop their own notes, which they can appreciate and reproduce at their own pace, instead of being made to answer with prescribed responses.
Additionally, schools need to encourage debating practice. Few can sustain debates unless they read up on debating materials. Examiners have already done their bit in varying the manner of questioning, requiring learners to prepare answers that they think for themselves – the next task is for the schools.
Unless reading is encouraged in schools, we could end up with a society of functionally illiterate readers.
school@observer.ug