Libraries to stimulate reading habit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One way to encourage children to pick up the
\nreading habit is to open more libraries across the country,
\nformer education minister Fuad Hassan said last Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The interest in reading among children is already high. The
\nproblem is how to turn this interest into a hobby,\" Fuad told The
\nJakarta Post on the sidelines of a seminar on improving reading
\nand writing proficiency among elementary school students.<\/p>\n
Indonesians are not enthusiastic book readers because they
\nfeel that books are too expensive, he said.<\/p>\n
The establishment of more libraries would give them greater
\naccess to reading materials and overcome this problem, he said.<\/p>\n
\"There should be a public library in every village. Every
\nprimary school should have its own library,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Only 18 percent of some 110,000 primary schools to high
\nschools have their own libraries, and only 22 percent of 64,000
\nvillages in the country have public libraries, according to data
\nfrom the Indonesian Library Club.<\/p>\n
Fuad said school libraries and public libraries could solicit
\nbook donations from companies and individuals.<\/p>\n
He cited the example of the Coca-Cola Foundation Indonesia,
\nwhich has committed to spend Rp 5 billion (US$531,000) to help
\nimprove 20 libraries across the country over the next three
\nyears.<\/p>\n
\"I hope many more private companies will join the endeavor,\"
\nFuad said.<\/p>\n
M. Hamka, a member of the curriculum development center at the
\nMinistry of National Education, said during the seminar that
\nchildren were not being encouraged in the schools to pick up the
\nhabit of reading and writing.<\/p>\n
He proposed school examinations feature more essay questions
\nto motivate children to develop their reading and writing skills.<\/p>\n
Anggani Sudono of the Al Izhar Islamic School in Jakarta said
\nschools could require students to read books periodically, and
\nthen retell the stories to the class.<\/p>\n
The students could even turn the stories they read into plays,
\nshe said. (04)<\/p>",
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