Reading deficits among students to be examined

A task force to examine deficits in reading in schools is to be established by Government, says Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw.

“Reading is indeed a problem,” she told the latest public forum on education transformation, at the Deighton Griffith Secondary School, on Wednesday.

Her comments came just after Director of the Education Transformation Unit Dr Idamay Denny told the fourth town hall-styled session that the conditions must be created for children to nourish a love for reading from an early age.

She said that currently, children are started on the formal process before they have developed the prerequisite skills they need for learning to read.

Dr Denny explained that it is important to also find out what would inhibit a child from learning to read.

“You have to create the conditions for the love of reading to take place and when you create those conditions, then you can build on them. We start children on the formal process before they develop those prerequisites that they need for learning to read. Our addressing of the reading issue has to start at the pre-primary level,” she pointed out.

Later, Education Officer Janette Little said the plan is to focus on explicit skill development. She said the task force will seek to ensure that the best practices are found to help children learn the skill of reading.

According to Little, diagnostic testing of every child will uncover the challenges, while an analysis of the data will help the task force come up with the best strategies to address the problems.
(SP)