Kano State Governor Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje observes that the challenge of diminishing reading culture among children and youth affects quality of education.
According to Ganduje, lack of reading culture does not only affects the education sector but even the economic, social and political aspects are becoming victims of the negative trend.
The Governor made the statement today Thursday while declaring opene a one day Seminar on readership promotion organised for Students and Young Readers Clubs by Kano State Library Board, held at the Board’s conference hall.
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” The challenge now is the diminishing reading culture particularly among our children and our youth. We are here today to listento the scholars and experts in the field to brainstorm and offer suģgestions on how to revive the reading culture among the children, youth and the entire populace ” said Ganduje.
Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje represented by his Deputy Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna maintained that despite billions of Naira spent by the administration at both basic, post primary and tertiary levels of education, there is need to complement this effort with sound and vibrant libraries and library services.
He revealed that during the first term of his administration, a comprehensive assesment had been made on the State’s Public Libraries Situation, stressing that…” contract was awarded for the renovation of all the seventeen branch libraries across the State’s Local Government and the construction of new additional libraries in four local governments of the State “.
Ganduje announced that recently, Kano State Government had approved and almost completed the construction of e-learning Library and a Computer Based Centre with modern facilities worth hundreds millions of Naira in Murtala Muhammad Library, which he described as transformation to modern day libraries.
With regards to the weekly radio programme on readership promotion and writing competition among Senior Secondary Schools introduced by the State library, Dr. Ganduje described the idea as welcome development which should be given the desired support.
In his remarks, the State Commissioner of Education Muhammad Sanusi Sa’id Kiru explained that while coming to the office as Commissioner, his Ministry had succeeded in executing a project for the procurement of furniture and library equipment worth more than N220 million.
” Your Excellency when I came , I discovered that about 17 of our libraries under this board in various local governments were under the custody of Kano State Ministry of Works. We have to struggle day and night to make sure that we retrieve our libraries back to this Minstry ” the Commissioner confirmed.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary Kano State Library Board Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed Bichi explained that the one day Seminar on readership promotion was organised to among other things improve reading culture among Students and Young Readers Clubs across the State.
In a statement by Deputy Governor’s Chief Press Secretary Hassan Musa Fagge said Others who spoke at the occasion include the Commissioner Kano State Ministry for Higher Education Dr. Mariya Mahmud Bunkure and the Executive Secretary Kano State Senior Secondary Management Board Dr. Bello Shehu.
