Government through the Ministry of Education has begun the distribution of 3.7 million Transition to English (T2E) Plus books and teaching and learning materials to 11,000 basic schools nationwide.
The materials, which was sponsored by the USAID is to help improve reading among pupils from KG2 to P4.
It forms part of a nine-year project to support the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to improve English grade reading literacy.
The books were printed locally by Buck Press. These 3.7 million books were locally developed by Ghanaian writers, illustrators, designers and content developers which highlights the Ghanaian and African story in a unique way for our children.
Dr Yaw Adutwum, Minister of Education made this known at the presentation ceremony in Accra.
He indicated the ministry is determined to ensure that basic schools received the necessary teaching and learning materials to create a seamless pipeline from the primary to secondary and tertiary levels.
According to him, “These books are going to public schools of our nation and this is how we bring about an equitable educational system where those in the private sector get the opportunity but we don’t leave out those in the public sector.
“More have gone, some are on their way and today these ones are going to leave here for the classrooms. When students return to school, they are going to see more textbooks.
Dr Adutwum commended the USAID for the initiative, which he said had strengthened the bond between the US and Ghana, saying that “This is a clear demonstration of how America cares about Ghana.”
He was optimistic that the project would help transform the fortunes of the country’s educational system.
The minister expressed Government’s commitment in improving learning outcomes right from the basic level to the tertiary level.
The $96-million USAID project is focusing on four critical areas, namely: early grade reading, T2E phase one programme, a national reading radio programme and the T2E Plus programme.
One of the key components of the project is the printing and distribution of quality teaching and learning materials to support the implementation of the reading programme.
By Vincent Kubi