Nairobi — North-Eastern Province's perennial low scores in national examinations have been blamed mainly on a poor reading culture among the students.

To address the problem, the Nation Media Group and the Safaricom Foundation are sponsoring the programme 'Newspapers in Education'.

The programme, which is aimed at creating interest in reading at an early age, covers eight districts in the province which include Garissa, Lagdera, Fafi, Ijara, Wajir East, Wajir West and Wajir North. It targets pupils in classes Four up to Seven at marginalised public schools.

Education minister Sam Ongeri, who was in the province for one week, toured Hyuga Girls School in Garissa, which has benefited from the 'Newspapers in Education' project.

Prof Ongeri praised the programme, saying it will help boost the reading culture. The Education secretary, Prof George Godia, said the project will help in imparting knowledge to the pupils.

The sponsors visited schools in Garissa that included Garissa Primary School, Hyuga Girls, Tetu Girls, Iftin Primary and Bouralgy Primary.

Experts also say other causes of the poor performance in the province include the lack of enough district quality assurance and standards officers, and the nomadic way of life the residents lead.

The Ministry of Education has also responded by launching the 'Nomadic Education Policy' in a bid to address challenges facing education development in the region.

Prof Ongeri said the ministry is committed to providing quality education to all Kenyans. Fifty per cent of districts in the province do not have a single quality assurance and standards officer.