Reading for a better tomorrow
Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka
By Bhagya Ratnayake
Udaya Rasa is a 39 year old Library Assistant at the St. Theresa’s Girls College in Kilinochchi. He has been a teacher since 1998 at this school for the last two years. His main responsibility? To manage the school library.
At the beginning of his post as a library teacher, he felt that it was a mundane job. When UNICEF partnered with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to improve learning achievement in selected schools across the country, and he was asked to attend a two-phased library training, funded by KOICA, he suddenly realized how important reading is.
“It was the first time I attended a training of this nature and it opened my eyes to the potential of my job role. Now I can identify the capacity of children and recommend books for them to read. I am contributing to literacy, to competencies, to learning outcomes. Indeed, I am contributing to the development of my country.”
Reading is an essential element of quality education and in Sri Lanka, where access rates to basic education are high (over 98%) and dropout rates relatively low, a focus on quality is still required. This is why UNICEF and KOICA have partnered together since 2012 to improve learning achievement in 104 schools in Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern provinces.
A fundamental feature of the programme is the implementation of the Child Friendly Approach (CFA) to make schools more effective, inclusive, gender-responsive, participatory and accountable to their students. Because of its appeal and effectiveness, Sri Lanka has included the CFA approach in the Education Sector Plan for 2013-2017.
And in schools like the one Rasa works in, KOICA and UNICEF are working together to improve teaching and learning methodologies, student assessments as well as strengthening learning support initiatives, like improved reading.
According to Rase: “My library and reading training opened up a new chapter in my life. I shifted from being a teacher who only managed the library books to a teacher who played a critical role to improve the reading skills of children. Earlier I did not know how to introduce a book to the children based on their age, interest and capacity. After the training I was able to meaningfully contribute to the children’s education through helping and encouraging them to read. I feel happy that I can do it”.
His school (St. Theresa’s Girls College) library lends books to children above Grade 6. Children from Grade 5 and below cannot borrow books from the library, but there is a library period allocated for them. The library period falls approximately 2-3 days a week for about 45 minutes per day. Rasa uses these library periods to interact with the children and help them to read. He believes that there is a significant difference in children’s interest in reading since the library class was established. Rasa also believes that the primary school reading materials, donated by KOICA, have played a leading role in attracting children in to the library. Most of the books, especially story books, are available in their local language (Tamil) which enables the children to truly understand the stories they are reading.
According to UNESCO, over 171 million globally could be lifted out of poverty if all students in low income countries acquired basic reading skills.
Rasa is eager to put this knowledge into action. He plans to make the library periods of the primary classes more interactive by doing drawings of what they read, having quizzes, and even doing short dramas. He believes that those activities will generate more interest among children to read and enable them to learn better.
Thus far, the partnership with KOICA has contributed to mainstreaming elements of the CFA – including a culture of reading - in 104 targeted schools - reaching more than 25,000 students. It has also contributed to training more than 75% of teachers in targeted schools, improving school self-assessments, development plans, school-based management and classroom assessments.
Furthermore, schools have to capacity to assist children in acquiring essential learning skills using interactive and practical teaching and learning methodologies through a) training of teachers on interactive and practical teaching methodologies (including multi-level teaching, action research methodologies and child centered methodologies); b) availability of appropriate teaching and learning materials, equipment and classroom based reading packs and c) access to reading corners with adequate reading materials and necessary facilities.
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