As the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information intensifies its efforts to improve literacy, parents are being encouraged to nurture a love for reading in their children.
Portfolio Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, emphasised that reading is essential to children’s development.
“Take them to the bookstore. Let them choose the books for themselves and let them see you reading too, because that’s an important thing. If they see the parent reading, then that gives them interest, too, in reading. I think it’s very important and, as parents, we have to do everything we can to instil reading in our children,” she said in a JIS News interview.
In observance of Read Across Jamaica Day on Tuesday (May 6), the Minister read to students at Constitution Hill Primary and Infant School in St. Andrew and Randolph Lopez School of Hope in Kingston.
Senator Morris Dixon also suggested that children be provided with a variety of books.
“We don’t always have to do the regular books… there are graphic novels. We know a lot of boys, especially, they like to see the pictures and see the comics. [Let’s do] whatever we can do to make it fun. So they don’t have to read the book with all the words, to start with. Give them something that’s interesting, that’s exciting,” she proposed.
Meanwhile, Dr. Morris Dixon reiterated that timetabled reading for grades one to three students at the primary level will commence in September 2025.
“We have said literacy is a commitment of ours, and we feel very strongly about it…; that is why we are doing that. We’re going to be doing more training with our teachers. Of course, our teachers want the same thing as us – they want their students to love reading, and so we’re going to be working with the teachers, giving them the resources,” she said.
Senator Morris Dixon added that Permanent Secretary, Dr. Kasan Troupe, and a Ministry team are actively preparing reading materials for distribution to all schools.
“They will be working with the teachers to make sure we are ready for September, because we’re not leaving any child behind at all,” the Minister said.