The Lagos State Government, through the Office of Education Quality Assurance, has designed an initiative, “Read Aloud Lagos,” to create and stimulate the interest of school children in reading.
Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Alausa, Ikeja, explained that the initiative was introduced to encourage all children, within the primary school age bracket in the state to imbibe the culture of reading, as well as increase their knowledge and improve comprehension.
Seriki-Ayeni said: “As an education quality assurance person, I was moved by the conviction that children perform better when they are led in the act of reading by someone else.
“Therefore, Read Aloud Lagos initiative is expected to be the most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success.”
She further explained that the programme was initiated to bridge the identified reading gap among school pupils, revealing that the information available to the Office showed that the time currently allocated to reading, during and after school hours, was inadequate.
The Director-General maintained that the reading ability of children would greatly improve if they have role models to look up to, saying “children should have role models that will guide them on how to pronounce words, read books and think critically.”
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Seriki-Ayeni stated that the Read Aloud Lagos project would be launched during the celebration of Children’s Day on May 27, with a special edition featuring dignitaries, including Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, reading virtually to children through online platforms and electronic media.
She averred that plans have also been concluded to begin the programme officially on June 1, after the special edition held on Children’s Day, stressing that the initiative would be a continuous virtual engagement for children and it would be made accessible in different languages as well as through various channels of communication.
