By Roland Mbonteh
The Chairman of the National Book Development Council, NBDC, Mwalimu George Ngwane, has said libraries have just become mere warehouses where books are dumped are nobody seems to be bordered.
Schools administrators, he added, do not seem to see the need of libraries.
Mwalimu George Ngwane made the statement to the press at the Buea Independent Square Wednesday 14th October shortly after donating 2,100 books to some 21 institutions drawn from Fako division in the South West Region.
The gesture of the National Book Development Council, according to the Chairman, is to make libraries very functional land try to see how language proficiency especially among the Anglophones can improve in terms of using new phrases and words.
“The mission and action statement of NBDC is to cultivate a book
culture and be extension improve on our library development,” George Ngwane said. To him, there seems to be a positive signs in the reading culture among the young people even though there seems to be an absence to access to both school and community libraries.
The driving force, according to the NBDC Chairman, lies on the fact the organization in partnership with the International Book Project in the USA want to encourage users to visit libraries and Liberians, to visit users so that books can go to users and users go to books.
While hoping that the 21 beneficiary institution which include the primary schools, one vocational centre, two community libraries and 16 secondary and high schools both government and private-owned in Fako, will take the books to the students in what he described as ‘mobile library’, the NBDC Chairman wished that the books meet their right intension.
The book donation programme dubbed Connecting School Libraries to Community Libraries, has as objective to imbibe in the students the book culture so that even when they leave school, they would see the need to use community libraries.
The second phase of the NBDC book donation has been scheduled for 28 October in Kumba for the Ndian, Lebialem, Manyu, Kupe-Muanenguba an Meme divisions while the third phase will be in November for the North West Region.
A team would go to the beneficiary schools to assets if the books donated are actually being used by the students and pupils while some of the schools would be chosen for pilot library course participants by next year to be able to assess and evaluate whether the books that have been given actually got to the end users.
Also present at the donation ceremony of the 2,100 books to 21 institutions was the South West Regional Delegate for Secondary Education, Francis Ngundu Mokomba, who, while receiving the donations, stated that it is a wonderful idea to have a reading culture where useful materials from a wide range of subjects are read. The delegate regretted that most school heads most often bring a few books that are contextual to the school system where students read only examination-oriented materials.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Director of the Intensive Vocational Training Centre, IVTC Buea, Becky Effoe, lauded the initiative, which, she hopes, will continue to other institutions. She promised of behalf of the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the books to meet the purpose for which they are intended.
According to the Principal of Government Secondary School, GSS, Bomaka in Buea sub division, Chief Njie Mokosa, the gesture is quite timely especially as his school is still very new. The books, he said will go a long way to enhancing the participation of his students and staff in the holistic society as the world has been reduced to a global village.
The ceremony was also attended by students and pupils of some beneficiary schools alongside schools heads and representatives of community libraries.
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