Government urged to develop a national reading policy -Publishers

Tamale, Aug. 17, GNA - The President of the Ghana Book Publishers Association (GBPA) Mr. Asare Konadu Yamoah has called on government to develop a national reading p olicy to rejuvenate reading and help deepen knowledge in the country. He also urged the government to revamp the Ghana Library Board, which is currently less resourced. Mr. Yamoah who was briefing the media in Tamale, expressed disappointment at the alarming rate at which reading was dying off from the schools curriculum, saying, "Students only read when they have exams and throw away their books after the exams".

He said reading materials for schools and colleges were not available, noting that, government had not been consistent in its procurement of supplementary reading materials for schools, and its policy on book purchases was not encouraging. Mr. Yamoah noted that education is the pivot of development and reading improves the capacity of people and builds an effective and efficient nation-state with competent human resources that would champion development at all levels of the state.

The GBPA President said government was the biggest and dominant purchaser of books, but had over the years neglected the sector resulting in low reading habit, with its resultant poor academic performance. "But for books, the exploits of some great leaders and personalities would have long faded into myths and legends," he stressed. Mr. Yamoah said Ghana international book fair is a cultural event that projects the country's literary culture, adding that, it is a collective activity and all businesses associated with the book industry should endeavour to take part. He said the GBPA was going to create and establish Ghana Book Fair in November this year, in all the regional capitals, to promote the Ghana International Book Fairs, which is organized annually and attracts thousands of exhibitors across the globe. 17 Aug. 09