Promoting a reading culture

One shrewd man once said that, “if you want to hide knowledge from an African, write it in a book.”This literally meant that Africans don’t like reading.Well, that hit me so hard and I thought of all my school years right from primary to University level, where students only got out there books when it was exam time.One would wonder where they have been all term and the funny bit of I, is that even if students used not to revise for class work, you could barely find even one reading a novel or Newspaper.They would rather gossip, make noise or do something else but not hold any kind of reading material.Throughout my school years, I thought the habit of not reading was among students only to realise it’s also among the other people in our society.We all know some families who will habitually buy the daily newspaper and even have a bookshelf in their living room but they hardly read anything.Thank God for the Media that keeps the non-readers updated, although that isn’t enough.There is a lot that we can’t learn or get from the media that lies in the books and novels that lie in the bookstores and on the shelves, untouched like they are some kind of placards that are decorated in our living rooms.Another wise man, Confucius, interestingly put it and said that, “No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”One of the things I really don’t fancy in our society is the fact that there is a very poor reading culture. This is almost the case in many other African countries.Regardless of age group, you can hardly find a Rwandan engrossed in a book, novel or even a Newspaper reading.Well with Rwanda’s fast growing rate into an ICT hub, one could think people read off the internet.However, we can all testify that besides our routine work lot, the other activities people mostly use internet for is email, facebook and twitter, not reading the Newspaper or a particular book.If you walked to the nearest bookstore or the section of books in the supermarkets, it’s usually the whites or other foreigners who buy books.Unfortunately the habit crops up all the way from childhood whereby children are especially encouraged to read technical subjects like Science and EST which can only help them for class work.However, having class knowledge isn’t enough as people need to also be informed and be knowledgeable on other issues besides what they learn from class.If children aren’t encouraged to read widely and gain knowledge from other books as well, then all they will have in their heads is the basic science, mathematics and all those other technical subjects.These trainings should be started right from childhood by encouraging children to read story books and children’s pull out in Newspapers. That way, they will grow up to be readers, hence knowledgeable and updated on a number of things that happen around the globe.Sharon Habba, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, says that the best way we can contribute to a knowledge-based economy that Rwanda aims at achieving is by raising several generations of readers.She notes that this can’t be achieved without readers and writers; therefore, the power of being able to read shouldn’t be under estimated.Habba observes that early grade reading in Rwanda is still poor but the Ministry of Education is broadly developing different initiatives to strengthen the culture of reading in the country.Effort is being made by availing text books so students can have what to read. Whereas government is trying to intensify efforts through provision of books and setting up of a public library, it has been recommended that parents and teachers can play a part in developing and instilling the habit of reading among children and parents.Parents’ role in instilling reading cultureParents have a big role to play in inculcating the reading culture among children so they can grow up into readers and knowledgeable, informed people that would easily engage in any intellectual discussion simply because they read and are therefore informed.Sophie Ingabire, a third year Law student at INLAK who also works for one of the Telecommunication companies here, says that when she was a child, her parents used to read to her stories and buy for her story books as well.“My parents would buy me interesting story books and afterwards ask me to narrate the stories I have read to them, and what I have learnt as well. They would reward me at times which motivated me to read more and tell stories. This encouraged me to read. I also used to be the best in spelling exercise,” says Ingabire.She adds that if her parents hadn’t introduced her to reading at an early age, she wouldn’t have been the knowledgeable confident woman she is today.“We also had story time at school which I loved so much because I always had stories to tell which built my confidence. Other students would even ask me to tell them stories so I always read not to disappoint the people who expected a lot from me. I was always the best student in English and most of the other subjects because I loved reading and had a wide vocabulary.” She confesses that until today, reading has become one of her greatest hobbies and she is always well-versed on many issues.While parents have a big role to play, teachers too should encourage students to read other literature books and novels besides class work. They can even spare some few minutes during the week to read other novels within the libraries and review them.Not every school can be fortunate to have a Library, but we can start with what we have to build a knowledge-based economy.Some of our Local Newspapers have pullout for children and teenagers which can be interesting reads for the children and teens.We can at least buy few of these and let the children read. The poor reading culture can only derail us and keep us ignorant.Another intelligent man, Walter Cronkite, said that, “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”