Lack of access to reading materials is sighted as one of the contributing factors to the poor reading culture in schools in Zambia.? The current national priority of expanding access to basic and high school education has meant that there are more pupils in dire need of books. This requires other partners in education to complement government efforts in providing these much needed reading materials, particularly at high school level.
To meet this need, the Forum for African Women Educationalists of Zamiba (FAWEZA) introduced Mobile Libraries also known as Libraries on Wheels in July 2004.?? This initiative? has recently extended by the government, to the health sector via the introduction of Mobile Hospitals.
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) bought the first Mobile Library used in Lusaka and the Embassy of Netherlands bought the other two operating in Kabwe and Ndola. FAWEZA is conducting pilot projects in the three provinces.
Following a partnership with Book Aid International (BAI) in 2007, the project has provided access to quality books relevant to the high school curriculum, particularly Sciences and Literature books which are scarce and too expensive to procure.
The pilot projects were preceded by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FAWEZA and the Ministry of Education (MoE), to formalise the collaborative partnership.? FAWEZA is now primed to engage with? public education institutions to undertake innovations, with the aim to increase girls? participation rates.
The objectives of the Mobile Library are to provide educational material that stimulate research and broaden pupils? knowledge base, foster a culture of reading, including recreational reading among high school pupils and provide teachers with extra teaching and reference materials to improve the quality of teaching, and ultimately improve school? examination results.
And owing to the success of the pilot project, FAWEZA handed over a fully-stocked four -tonne truck to its Lusaka Provincial Chapter on July 7, 2011 at the Provincial Education Office (PEO).
Officiating at the handover ceremony, Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Daniel Bowasi said the occasion marked a milestone in the partnership between the Government and FAWEZA,? and encouraged all Zambians to support the project.
?Through this handover of the Mobile Library, FAWEZA has demonstrated in a very practical way that improving the quality of education is everyone?s responsibility.
?Ladies and gentlemen, the benefits of reading cannot be over-emphasised. The Mobile Library initiative has now been recognised by the Zambian Government as a successful project for which FAWEZA is highly commended,? he said.
Mr Bowasi however observed that there are many more schools and provinces, including Lusaka,? currently not benefiting from the scheme and thus urged FAWEZA to aggressively mobilise resources for the scaling up of this vital initiative to many more districts.
He noted that it is not uncommon to find the pupil/teacher ratios? as high as 10 pupils to one book, citing some public high schools where the only books available are teachers? reference books. Learners are totally dependent not only on their teachers? proficiency to relay information from printed material, but also on their own ability to learn by listening.
?The overall goal of the Mobile Library is to remedy this situation as well as to complement Government?s efforts in enhancing the quality of education through provision of relevant course and reference materials, teaching aids and books for pupils,? Mr Bowasi says.
Speaking at the same occasion, FAWEZA national secretary Florence Mfula said the project which started with one Mobile Library in Lusaka is currently servicing 44 high schools in Lusaka, Central and Copperbelt provinces. The Eastern Province Chapter is scheduled to be handed with a Mobile Library before the end of term two this year.
The three Mobile Libraries make fortnightly rounds during the school term and pupils are able to borrow a book for two weeks before the Mobile Library returns and thus enabling them to study both at school and at home. The Eastern Province Mobile Library will be the fourth.
Ms Mfula says the library book stock has increased from 4,017 in 2006 to over 21, 000 books and that owing to that increase, the annual target of beneficiaries also rose from 3, 478 in 2006 to about 18, 923 this year in the 44 High Schools. The statistics are expected to soar with the addition of Eastern Province.
Ms Mfula says books from BAI have made a significant contribution in enhancing the quality of learning at high school level in Zambia, as having access to reading materials provided by the United Kingdom (UK)-based charitable organisation has freed learners from total dependence on their teachers.
?The Mobile Library project has proved beyond doubt that books are an essential element to improving the quality of education,? she says.
She cites a comparative SSLE analysis results for the beneficiary cohort of 2004-2006 as having showed an average increase in pass rates by 6.3 percentage points compared to the 2003-2005 cohort of non-beneficiaries. The 2008 and 2009 results revealed that the 2009 FAWEZA-beneficiary pupils performed better than the non-beneficiaries of 2008.
The Mobile Library iproject has provided a successful model that can be scaled up and replicated.
?We urge the Government to seriously consider integrating the project into the mainstream curriculum so that many more learners will benefit from the resource,? Ms Mfula says.
Lusaka Province Education Officer (PEO) Alice Nzala thanked the FAWEZA for the gesture,? saying that Lusaka has been involved in the Mobile Library services during the trial run, and that the value of the facility is highly appreciated as it contributes to the enhancement of education particularly in high schools.
Ms Nzala noted that during the trial period, a consultative meeting with various stakeholders was held in the fourth quarter of last year to discuss the sustainability of the programme and it was resolved that all participating schools would contribute K300,000 and participating pupils K1, 000 per year.
?This was perceived necessary for the purposes of inculcating a spirit of appreciating the service and hopefully would result in better care for the books,? Ms Nzala says.
Zambia is making frantic efforts to instigate and encourage a postive reading culture in its communities through these initiatives.? FAWEZA?s national secretary believes that ?it is undeniable that books change lives of people the world over. They not only stimulate learning, but open the world to most of us who may not have opportunities to physically travel to see the world.?
Source ? Times of Zambia By Chusa Sichone
Source: http://www.africanbrains.net/2011/09/16/faweza%E2%80%99s-mobile-libraries-enhancing-reading-culture/
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