Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo BEST) programme, makes reading and the entire learning experience attractive and fun for children in public primary and secondary schools in Edo State.

In his address at the 2018 Readership Promotion Campaign, themed: Sustaining Lifelong Reading for Positive Change, organised by the National Library of Nigeria in Benin City, Obaseki explained, “As part of the plans to over-haul the basic education sub-sector in the state through the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) programme, the state government has concluded arrangement to provide mini-library in each classroom in public school across the state. This will assist pupils in public schools to cultivate sustainable reading culture.”

He added that in the plans for the reconstruction of public schools across the state, there are provision to equip the schools with rich libraries where students can read and conduct research.

The governor who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Hon. Emmanuel Agbale, noted, “The pupils will be taught how to manage books in the mini-library so that on a rotational basis, every pupil in a class will have the opportunity to serve as the class librarian.”

Obaseki explained, “There are plans to equip public schools with solar panels that will provide adequate lighting to power tablets to be distributed to students in public schools, with pre-loaded novels and story books.”

“Survey carried out to generate data on the number of schools will assist the state in developing strategies that would guarantee the protection of assets deployed to schools for improved teaching and learning outcomes,” he added.

Obaseki urged youths to make effort to cultivate good reading habit, noting that the time spent daily by youths reading and sending messages on social media platforms was a wrong presumption of effort at developing their reading habit.

He noted that youths would benefit from cultivating a healthy reading habit, adding that such would set them on the path of becoming global citizens and competing favourably with their peers anywhere in the world.

A guest lecturer, Dr. (Mrs.) Elizabeth I. Ifidon, of the Department of Library and Information Science, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, explained that the campaign on sustainable reading for positive change can only be successful if it is supported by all stakeholders including parents and educational institutions.