The Reading Factory in partnership with the Cape Coast Metro Education Directorate has organized the first-ever all-inclusive reading and arts festival in Ghana.
The first ever all-inclusive reading and arts festival was held among the Basic Schools within the Metropolis.
The programme assembled together 100 students from 21 schools comprising both private and public schools within the Cape Coast Metropolis to demonstrate their reading and arts skills.
Speaking to ATLFMNEWS at the programme, the Chief Executive Officer and the team leader of Reading Factory, Saraswati Efua Arthur said the aim of the all-inclusive reading and arts literacy is to promote all-inclusivity among regular, intellectual impairment, and visual impairment students.
She added that the programme is also geared towards promoting literacy among all pupils and observing the International Literacy Day celebration.
“Most of the time we hear spelling be within festivals but for regular children and not persons with visual impairments, hearing impairments, those with intellectual impairments. So, I felt that there is a need for them to also showcase their ability because they can do everything that the regular child is doing” she said.
Saraswati Efua Arthur therefore noted that the all-inclusive reading and arts literacy aimed to give every child the opportunity to showcase their abilities.
She explained that the theme for the event: promoting literacy for a world in transition: Our collaborative efforts is appropriate because the goal of achieving all-inclusive education can only be realized when stakeholders offer their maximum support.
However, she revealed that the main challenge of all-inclusive reading and arts literacy is the lack of support from stakeholders which hinders their work in some instances.
As such, she called for the assistance of organizations and individuals to assist the all-inclusive reading and arts literacy with any necessary support to reach out to many children.
Representing the Metro Director of Education, Mr Francis Koffie, the School Improvement Support Officer (SISO) for Ola Circuit, said the directorate is enthused with such a programme that will improve students’ performances.
He explained that the all-inclusive reading and arts literacy festival is a sequel to a five-year reading program USAID organized and sponsored within the Cape Coast Metropolis in which reading festivals were also held.
“So during such a program, we engaged the children to read very challenging passages and materials which they read for us to see; and then we are strengthening them based on that.
So in fact, when we did that, we were able to identify potential in our children. USAID has actually ended their program, but the metro is taking it up to also continue where the USAID program actually ended” he continued.
Mr. Francis Koffie believes reading is critical in education because it helps students understand and appreciate every subject of study.
As such, he reiterated that the all-inclusive reading and arts literacy will help to continue the efforts they have also put in place to nurture the youth in developing their reading skills in the metropolis.
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Source: Eric Sekyi/ATLFMNEWS
