Ms Maris Stella Djentuh, Atiwa District Director
of Education, has urged teachers in the area to ensure that they observe library periods on their time tables and strictly supervise the children to
read.
She has also advised teachers to ensure that no child was sent on any teacher's errands during library periods in the name of "there are no
library books".
Ms Djentuh was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the end of a three-day mobile library programme organized by the Eastern Regional Library Board for basic schools in rural communities at Kwabeng in the Atiwa district on Monday.
She reiterated the need for well-resourced libraries for people, especially those in the rural setting.
Ms Djentuh observed that a well-resourced library could produce a literate population, who needed continued education and also become a place
of fulfillment of the people's aspirations.
"It also offers support for teaching, learning and research programmes of all people and institutions".
She indicated that libraries could help school children to acquire good reading habits and allow them to put their leisure time into qualitative and productive use.
The District Director observed that most rural communities did not have enough of the right books, other information materials and libraries to keep alive and to extend the learning process after formal school and because of that much of what the children learnt get lost.
Ms Djentuh, therefore, commended the Ghana Library Board in the region for taking a bold initiative to extend the library activities to the
door-steps of the rural child.
The Eastern Regional Liberian, Mr Guy Amarteifio, said the aim of the project was to inculcate reading habits in the children but because there were no libraries in many parts of the country, the Library Board had drawn up a programme to send the books to their door-steps.
He said workers at the Regional Library sent the books to the communities through mobile vans where they organised the children to come and to collect them.
"Sometimes we spend between three and five days in the community and the response had been tremendous", he said.
He said at the Kwabeng programme about 600 basic school children came to read at least a book of their choice in each of the three-day programme.