According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the project is “based on the principle that reading is the foundation for the learning of all other school subjects and ultimately the path to a better life”.
At the start of the 18 million US dollar programme, over 800 teachers in 120 schools will receive training funded by USAID. In addition, 60 school directors and 120 teaching directors will be trained in managing school resources to increase classroom reading time.
It is planned that by 2015 the programme will cover a thousand schools and five thousand teachers, improving the reading ability of students in grades two and three through increasing the quality and quantity of reading instruction.
The programme was launched on Wednesday in a ceremony led by Education Minister Augusto Jone and US ambassador Douglas Griffiths.
Jone said that reading makes it possible to reach new horizons through the development of skills. He added that “the Strategic Education Plan for the period 2012 – 2016 focusses on learning through a greater attention to the development of basic skills in reading, writing and numeracy”.
For the Minister, the “Learn to Read” programme will deliver an increase in the quality of reading instruction through teacher training and coaching, and the production, distribution and training in the application of reading instruction materials.
He added that “an increase in the quantity of reading instruction, through strengthening school management and institutional capacity building at school, district, and provincial level, is another benefit of the project”.
According to the Minister, access to primary education has expanded rapidly in the Mozambique. Between 2003 and 2007, the number of children in primary schools increased from 3.3 million to 5.3 million at an average growth rate of 8 per cent per year.
He pointed out that “this rapid expansion has placed great pressure on the system, resulting in double and triple shift schools, a high student to teacher ratio, and an overload on school managers”.
For the Minister, the role of teachers is fundamental as it is up to them to find new ways of interacting with the students in practical activities to promote a love of reading.
Ambassador Griffiths said that basic education is a fundamental human right. He added that he believed that the completion of primary education is critical for the achievement of socio-economic development and for achieving a strong, inclusive and participatory democracy.
Post published in: Africa News