Mrs Modupe Oziyi, a retired Director in the Lagos State Ministry of Education, on Friday called for a collaboration between parents and teachers to enhance reading culture among children.
Oziyi made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to her, reading is an essential part of education which must be inculcated from home.
“All hands must be on deck to promote reading and make it a habit from the early stage of life; it should start from home and with parents.
“Teachers are trying to encourage reading among children, but it is unfortunate that in recent times some parents don’t make out time to engage their children in reading, for them to see it as a lifestyle.
“In essence, this should be a wake-up call for parents to see themselves as the first teachers for their children, and not pushing it all to teachers who are also parents,” she said.
The retiree, now an education consultant, expressed dissatisfaction at the approach of some students toward their academics, saying that many of them read only to pass examinations.
According to her, students in that category end up limiting themselves which affects them negatively in the long run.
“A child that grows with the mindset of reading is usually successful. Such a child hardly sees examination like some do because he or she will only be doing revision when others are reading to pass.
“Being a trained teacher, even though retired and now a consultant, I always counsel my students against reading to pass.
“I encourage them to read wide, to read outside their core schemes of work, to gain broader knowledge.
“Education is a life-long process and requires early solid foundation because that is the only way to get it right and channel the minds of students in the right direction,” Oziyi told NAN.
According to her, reading as a habit helps them to build self-confidence and the ability to communicate fluently.
(NAN)