President Jonathan gives 14M books in the ‘Bring Back the Book’ programme

As a scholar, President Goodluck Jonathan understands the importance of books in the development of the Nigerian child. Since becoming the nation’s leader, the President has never hidden his desire to ensure that the Nigerian child gets the right quality of wholistic education, necessary to sustain the various development initiatives being promoted by his administration.

When the President launched the ‘Bring Back the Book’ programme, many social commentators had dismissed it as a flash in the pan. Several people claimed that it was one of those government initiatives that would fizzle out in no distant time. What most of these critics did not consider was the fact that the president as an educationist is concerned about the declining reading culture and its attendant negative consequences on the overall development of the nation.

Since commencing this term of office after his victory at the polls, President Jonathan has taken critical steps to revive the nation’s education sector, especially the foundational level, the basic education sub-sector. The president maintains and rightly so, that it is the right of every Nigerian child to have access to basic education, irrespective of the circumstances of his/her birth.

It was on the premise of the President’s love for the dissemination of quality knowledge and information to the Nigerian child that he directed the Minister of State for Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike to ensure that all primary school pupils and junior secondary school students have access to textbooks in core subjects of English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies and the Basic Introductory Sciences.

For the President, no Nigerian child should be denied the opportunity of building his/her knowledge base on the ground of his/her poor social background. The President’s position is premised on surveys from the Federal Ministry of Education and the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, which indicate that although the present administration’s interventionist programmes in the basic education sub-sector has led to increased enrolment in schools across the country, there remains the gap of the scarcity of instructional materials and books available to the less privileged Nigerian child.

A higher percentage of the children who have been enrolled in public schools in the country are from homes where their parents cannot afford to buy books for them to deepen their knowledge base and enhance their learning skills when they leave their schools for their homes.

On Thursday, June 7, President Jonathan flagged off one of the most courageous book distribution initiatives aimed at returning the country to the days of qualitative learning with a view to building a critical foundation for the general development of the nation. The flag-off which was performed on behalf of the President by the Vice President, Namadi Sambo was witnessed by State Education Commissioners, Chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards, teachers and pupils from the 36 states of the Federation.

Vice President Sambo who represented President Jonathan at the event held at the Model Primary School, Maitama, Abuja, took time off to personally distribute the books to selected children from the six geo-political zones from the primary and junior secondary school cadres. From the faces of these kids, one could see their joy and appreciation for the President’s worthy priceless gift to them.

In the next few weeks, the Federal Government will conclude the direct distribution of 14 million copies of primary one and two textbooks in English Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, basic science and technology. Also to be distributed are assorted library resource materials for junior school pupils totalling 4,929,593 million copies. These books are to be distributed directly to benefitting Nigerian children.

SunNews