The Registrar, Ghana Scholarships Secretariat, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, has launched a new initiative to boost education in the Abuakwa South Municipality, called the ‘Kingsley Readathon Challenge’.
The Kingsley Readathon Challenge, a reading contest, is to improve the reading abilities of pupils in the Abuakwa South Municipality.
Beyond the Kingsley Quizzes that have been running for about 4 years now, for Upper Primary and Junior High Schools, as well as the coaching and mentorship program for senior high schools, the Readathon Challenge has been added for lower primary.
On Thursday, October 19, 2023 at the Akufo-Addo Auditorium of the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education, the founder of the Kingsley Quizzes, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, launched the contest and announced the prizes for the winning schools.
UNPLEASANT
The birth of the reading challenge in the Abuakwa South Municipality comes at a time when the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has bemoaned the poor reading abilities of pupils in the country.
According to a study conducted by the National Standardised Test in 2015, 98% of Basic-2 pupils could not read. The same study conducted in 2022 saw some improvement, but it revealed that 62% cannot read.
In his brief remarks to launch the maiden reading contest, the Registrar of the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat said the outcome of the study was “not pleasant” for anyone to be happy about.
He indicated that the need to improve the reading abilities of pupils in the municipality, as a step to solving the national problem, informed his decision to roll out the reading challenge.
“We are very much aware of the results of the National Standardisation Test, where in 2015 the same test was conducted for Basic-2 children and the results were that 98% of Ghanaian children in Basic-2 could read.
“This was not pleasant news at all. In 2022, the same test was also conducted and 64% cannot read. This is not something that anybody should be excited about, hence this intervention,” Dr. Agyemang remarked.
THE CONTEST
The nature of the contest is that 20 Schools have been selected to participate in the reading challenge. Out of the 20, 12 of the schools are from the Kingsley Spelling Challenge and eight were selected randomly by the Municipal Education Directorate in Abuakwa South.
From the sets of reading material given to the participating schools, they would be tested on word spelling, reading, comprehension, character description and word formation.
Schools that would progress to the final stage would have their contestants awarded with tablets with materials to help them continue reading.
There would also be cash prizes for the contestants and their teachers. The contest is expected to begin in six weeks’ time, starting with the launch last Thursday.
Some of the schools selected are Ebenezer Presby Basic, Ofori Panin Memorial Preparatory, Apapam Methodist Basic, Kibi M/A Experimental Basic, Asiakwa R/C Basic, Asafo Islamic Baisc, Sagyimase Presby Primary, Adortowa Presby Primary, Akosua Agyeiwaa Methodist Basic and Apedwa Presby Basic.
MOTIVATION
Kingsley Agyemang is noted for his numerous investments in the Abuakwa South Municipality; including welfare, education, health, agriculture and social engagements.
Explaining why most of his activities hover around education, he told the media that education is the only variable to pilot any individual to the next level and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
He added that Okyenman stands for developing the mind to think ahead. “So, it was not strange that three out of the six founders of Ghana came from this municipality.”
IMPACT
Responding to a question on the impact of his intervention in the Abuakwa South Municipality, he opined that it had been positive; judging from the feedback the education directorate gives him.
He reported that the education directorate had informed his outfit that the performance of students in Mathematics and Science at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) has improved since the introduction of the Kingsley Maths and Science quiz.
Also, the vacation classes for these students, he added, had a positive impact on their performance.
“We started some three or four years ago. It is important to underscore that the maiden winners of the Kingsley Maths and Science quiz had the opportunity to represent Abuakwa State College last two years in the National Science and Maths quiz, where Abusco was able to make it to the quarterfinals. They did their WASSCE and did very well. They are being assisted to continue school abroad to read science.
“It is our expectation that in the next five to seven years, every year, we should be graduating from our tertiaries, not less than 30 schoolchildren, organically grown from the constituency with science and its related background,” he asserted.
COMMENDATION
Addressing the media, the Municipal Director of Education, Abuakwa South, Mrs. Comfort Ofori-Appiah, said “We are trusting God that this intervention is going to help us, especially at the lower level, from KG-1 to Basic-3, to lay a solid foundation for reading in the municipality.”
According to her, the various educational interventions provided by the Kingsley quizzes have extended the instructional period of schools in the municipality.
She explained that due to various quizzes from basic to senior high school, teachers always have to prepare students aside from the normal teaching hours to be able to represent their schools well.
The Municipal Director of Education commended Kingsley Agyemang for putting education at the forefront of his desire to represent and transform Abuakwa South.
