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Liberia: Confab On Writing Text Books Opens In Monrovia
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The Analyst (Monrovia)
24 April 2008
Posted to the web 24 April 2008
Stakeholders in the country yesterday began a three-day National Conference on writing reading textbooks for primary schools in Liberia, the first of its kind in fifteen years
The conference is currently taking place at the W..V.S. Tubman High School on in Monrovia under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Education. The conference has some 60 participants from both public and private schools across the country.
They include County Education Officers (CEO) as well as representatives from two International Publishing Houses, (the Macmillan Education Foundation and the Longman Sedico from London, Great Britain).
Marking remarks at the occasion, Education Minister, Dr. Joseph Korto stressed the importance of the conference. Dr. Korto said the exercise is geared toward formulating new vision and setting new goals for the good of the country's human resource development.
One of the keys objectives of the conference according to the Minister is to help build the capacity of Liberian writers and inspire them to write textbooks for the Country's primary schools.
According to the Education Minister, reading is the foundation of teaching and learning process. He regretted that the teaching of reading skills, especially at the primary grade level is one of the areas that has received very little attention in the country's educational system and as a result, Liberian are generally poor readers
He said the importance of the conference can't be over emphasized as children will learn well when they readily relate to the things, circumstances, and experiences being described in the books they read and presented to them during instruction.
Dr. Korto also noted that materials produced by Liberian writers will tell stories that are culturally related to the country's cultural norms and values. He urged Liberian writers to take interest and respond meaningfully to this national call for the production of indigenous Liberian instructional materials for the benefit of the country's primary school students
"We must also commit government through the ministry of Education to provide the necessary insensitive that will enhance the interest of Liberian writers," the Minister said.
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Dr. Korto said the Ministry has received several manuscripts from a number of Liberian writers, and he believes those are worth production. He said as the initial step the Ministry will make available US$125,000 before the end of the fiscal year for the sole purpose of printing and testing some of the manuscripts produced by Liberian writers
Also delivering a paper at the start of the conference was Deputy Minister for Instruction at the Madam Hester Williams Catakpa, who then told the gathering that the economic and social health of a country depends on building a literate nation of which Liberia is no exception.
Madam Catakpa stressed that this national vision by the President of Liberia, Madam Sirleaf and the Unity Party Government is taking strong initiative through the Ministry of Education to see it that it becomes a reality.
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