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| Sunday, 17 October 2004 |
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October is the 'month of reading' : Why aren't we reading? by Chamitha Kuruppu Sri Lanka earmarked October as the 'Month of Reading'. And its official for the first time in history over thousand programs have been organised around the island to mark the month of reading and promote the reading habit. The authorities point out that the new concept will help sustain the excitement among readers experienced last month, which was the literacy month. Meanwhile, book publishers have happily announced that the discounted rates available during the literacy month will be extended to cover the Month of Reading as well. According to the Director General of the National Library and Documentation Services Board, Upali Amarasiri, the man behind the introduction of 'Month of Reading,' the Library Board has received tremendous response over the last three weeks. Various programs such as flag days, reading votes, seminars and fund raising campaigns are being carried out in libraries around the country. "The main objective of the program is to promote the habit of reading especially among the poor in rural sector," says Amarasiri, points out that priority would be given to develop and expand library facilities in the country. "Our libraries lack audio visual material and internet facilities, therefore we will carry out projects to introduce technology beyond the printed material," he said. The Director General emphasised that measures will be taken to carry out 'more programs' year to mark the month of reading. "The response from the private sector was very poor this time and more awareness programs would have to be carried out," he says. Director, British Council Tony O'Brain believes that more emphasis should be given to remedy the declining reading habit of Sri Lankans. "Although it is strongly believed here that reading is important - the reading skills are very weak among Sri Lankans," he claims. In order to achieve this, the British Council recently concluded a competition that made students to read certain books and submit a review. "This made us experience a great level of reading among our students and they had submitted some interesting reviews," he points out. Veteran author Sumithra Rahubadda emphasises that the need of the hour is to make available more reading material for the rural population. "State assistance is mainly for schools in urban areas. All the international funding goes to the limited number of schools in Colombo. There are schools in rural areas without library facilities. We have to end this," she says. This is the first time the country has organised so many programs to celebrate the month of reading. As an initial step we welcome this concept, but what is important is to maintain the same level of reading habit throughout the year, she adds. We should educate the parents not to force children to stick to their text books. I have met many youth who are not permitted to read any books other than their school text books, we should change this set up as well, Rahubadda continues. Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya Prof. Kapila Gunasekera complains about the poor reading habit of undergraduates in the country. "Our aim is to produce a graduate who can analyse an issue, critically evaluate and synchronise. The easiest way to practice this is through reading. But unfortunately most students hardly read even their guide books," laments Prof. Gunasekera. While veterans complain that the reading habit of the country is gradually declining book publishers who had a record number of sales during last month says they will continue the discounted rates till the end of this month. President of the Book Publishers Association Sarath Wanniachchi says that when considering the number of books sold during the literacy month it is unfair to say that the reading habit is declining. "The people have realised that more than the electronic media, reading helps to gain more knowledge and makes one a complete person," he points out. |
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