Ogun State Makes History: Reading Becomes Compulsory Subject in Schools

 

Abeokuta, Ogun State – In a landmark decision, Ogun State has made reading a compulsory subject in all public schools, marking a significant milestone in literacy advocacy. The SixthSense Initiative, an NGO pioneering the restoration of reading culture hailed the decision as a breakthrough.

In a Statement made available to Journalists on Monday,Chief Abiodun Lasile, Founder and Coordinator of The SixthSense Initiative, revealed that the journey began in 2015 with careful conceptualization and advocacy. 

"Before I started writing in 2015, I had created a path to navigate with a careful conceptualisation of literacy advocacy. I wrote twenty three (23) manuscripts, finalised six (6) titles and published four (4) books within six months. The four books were presented to the MoEST Evaluation and Curriculum and three (3) books out of four titles were approved for examination and reading. The success didn't stop there; SUBEB, UBEC and NERDC recognised the books with different certifications.

"Haven conquered a huddle of publications that's the mirth of being a published author, I launched the literacy advocacy in 2017 with SixthSense Children Reading Competition Programme and Summer Children Reading Camp a year after and many more till date. I had four clear pointers towards the direction to pursue the literacy journey tagged Our Charge; Government, School, Parent and SixthSense. We were focused on our objectives at takeoff without confusion to these society strata. Abinitio, it looked like an onerous task, some academia didn't believe it but we sustained the advocacy with ten (10) programmes and concepts.

"We pushed hard for over a decade.The unbelievable is now a reality. Reading is now a Subject in our schools in Ogun State!" he exclaimed.

The initiative involved publishing books, launching reading competitions, and engaging with government, schools, and parents. Three books were approved for examination and reading, and the effort paid off with recognition from SUBEB, UBEC, and NERDC.

Chief Lasile who is also Chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors (Ogun Chapter) and Orunto Baalufe of Owu Kingdom, Abeokuta,  expressed gratitude to stakeholders, saying this milestone marks a significant step towards transforming education in Ogun State .

"