Newspapers are taking over our library

As the Government of Rwanda promotes the culture of reading among young people, it appears that at my school a lot has been done in this regard. This is seen from the fact that students have embraced different reading materials lately particularly newspapers. Previously, many of the students were not inclined to read at all to the extent that some of them viewed it like some form of mild torture. Despite having a rich library containing a lot of reading materials like novels, story books. The majority of students were not attracted to the library since they regarded it a boring place full of old, outdated books. Happily , a couple of months ago, the school introduced newspapers in the library particularly The New Times after realising that providing the students with a lot of reading materials would act as the catalyst to speed up the culture of reading among the students. This was warmly welcomed by the entire student body. To my surprise students are now using the more than ever. The positive thing is that they are not interested in the pictures but rather reading the articles on each page. It has become obvious that they are now relying on The New Times to stay updated on what happens outside the school. One can clearly see that the impact this has made. Today, students read a range of other reading materials and this culture has greatly facilitated students to open their minds and carry out research from academic text books and pamphlets. This has resulted in improved academic excellence. According to Karomba Fred, a S.4 student, he noted, “we like to read The New Times especially the inside weekly pages but particularly Education Times. It is very educative and informative. Thanks to the school for bringing such a newspaper to us, he said.I conclude by encouraging you my entire fellow student body o take reading as a hobby, reading a lot will not only improve your vocabulary but it will enable us to broaden our scope. What author Edmund Burke says, “Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.”The writer is a student at Kagarama S.S in Form 6HEGdennistony8@yahoo.com