Zwedru – The Kids Educational Engagement Project (KEEP) over the weekend dedicated a reading room valued at over US$5,000 for primary students in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.
The turning over even took place the Child Friendly School, a Public School in Zwedru that hosts over 500 students this 2019/2020 academic school year.
During the dedicatory ceremony, Grand Gedeh County Education Officer Mr. Harris Doe thanked KEEP management for the initiative and said it is key to the Ministry of Education to ensure that children prioritize reading and writing as beginning courses for their early learning.
He called on all primary students of the Zwedru school system and school administration to make the best use of the facility, describing it as a kind gesture made by their partner.
“It is my hope that this reading room will be used for its intended purpose, and not for its doors to be closed throughout, because our partner spent plenty of amounts of money to construct and furnished this reading room all because of our children to acquire quality education,” the CEO said.
He then encouraged pupils to read, while adding that MOE is considering revision of the present curriculum to place a key focus on reading.
“We are now discussing with partners to ensure that from 3rd grade to 4th grade do only four subjects,” he said while promising to play a “self-monitoring role to the KEEP project”.
In remarks, Southeastern Women Development Secretarial (SEWODA) Programme Manager Madam Felicia Duncan, praised KEEP and its partners for the Reading library and said it remains a serious challenge to the country’s educational sector.
She said the government does not have all the resources to do everything so it is required by every Liberian to collectively support in every sector to better Liberia.
Madam Duncan said it is due to the lack of reading rooms, libraries, and laboratories, Liberian children are failing in national exams “therefore if the school system makes the best use of what is been given by KEEP it can make an impact in the feature for children that will take advantage”.
Receiving the keys on behalf of the school administration and students, Mr. Alfred Gbarzaryee, the school principal lauded the effort of KEEP and the ministry of education for establishing a reading room in his institution.
Albert Thoudou, KEEP County Coordinator, thanked partners mostly Ministry of Education, and OXFAM-Liberia for the coordination in the county.
Thoudou said KEEP has established reading rooms in Grand Gedeh Margibi, Montsorrado and Gbarpolu Counties.
He said his organization believes that reading remains the most fundamental to education, which means one cannot learn without it.
Report By: Ben T.C. Brooks In Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County