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More efforts needed to inculcate reading habit among students
2007-10-22 09:31:25
By Mwaka Nakasula
It is most often said that reading opens the door for knowledge. The need to nurture the love for reading cannot be overemphasized.
It is a battle which must be won at all costs for there to be anything like quality education and better life for all.
The era of glabalisation now means that the world is increasingly becoming knowledge-based thereby triggering the quest to have a literate generation of both young and elderly people.
But the problem is that many students are doing less reading as the terminology itself increasingly becomes less relevant in their daily lives.
There is also a knowledge vacuum that needs to be closed up as most students, for instance, need proper guidance as to what to read and what not to.
The situation in Tanzania paints a rather gloomy picture though efforts are being made by different quarters to encourage students both in private and public secondary schools to develop a keen interest in reading.
It is in this light that the Dar es Salaam International school recently flagged off a reading week that was aimed at encouraging reading among students.
The theme of the week was to instill the love of reading among the students as well as to build their literacy skills.
Such activities were in line with the adage which goes as `If you don`t have advanced literacy skills today you don`t have much of a chance to good life`.
Among the activities included a book fair where several publishers set up stalls and allowed students to purchase books which they were able to read at home.
Others include a race to read one hundred books by the end of the academic year.
According to school Director, Shaista Juma, fine art and literature are key components to students` education.
To further enhance the children`s knowledge about the book publishing industry, students were taken through the ABC of the whole process during the week long programme
According to Linda Lumbasa, who is English editor for Ben and Company, the process of publishing a book is one that requires a lot of patience.
`It takes a long time to finally get a book published,` she explains.
Lumbasa explained to the students that the whole process begins with the presentation of a manuscript from the author to the publisher for consideration.
Upon acceptance, the next stage involves the lay out and design.
`Publishing companies employ designers and illustrators in order to complete the whole process,` explains Lumbasa.
As in the case of manuscripts meant for school text books translated from English to Kiswahili, certification ought to be sought from the Kiswahili Council.
`After certification is issued the manuscript is then taken to the ministry of education which also issues a certificate of approval,` says Lumbasa.
She further explains that royalties are paid to authorities by publishing houses for solicited materials.
In attendance was little known Tanzanian born and United States based author, Skiander Damji, who provided a huge source of inspiration to encourage students to read and probably consider the prospects of becoming writers upon completion of their education.
His latest publication is entitled `Oyster Bay` and other short stories.
In this stunning debut of stories, Damji explores the social ethos of an immigrant Asian community set in the early 60s through the 70s, a decade of immense changes that marked many people`s lives in the city of Dar es Salaam.
Damji says he become inspired to write the book upon developing a huge curiosity about his ethnic past.
`The starfish on the cover of my book symbolises a displacement leading to a loss of a sense of identity and confusion,` says Damji.
Damji classifies his book as historical fiction with a huge level of moral lessons attached.
These include the fact that immigrant ethnic groups have an obligation to respect the laws of the land in which they live in as well as the fact that they too have the right to be critical and air constructive views.
He describes citizenship as a state of mind and not something which is on paper.
Damji says that Tanzania needs more historical writers.
“We have a few in the country such as Prof. Issa Shivji but he writes more on politics.
We need more writers who can explore the current levels of humanist changes in the country,” he says.
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