Minister of Education Douglas Syakalima has bemoaned the increased illiteracy levels in schools caused by the luck of reading among learners.
Mr. Syakalima says while some efforts to improve the quality of education in schools is working, much remains to be done to ensure children are reading and acquiring the necessary skills.
Speaking when he officiated at the USAID Education Data Summit in Lusaka today, Mr. Syakalima said that according to the baseline and midline early grade reading assessment conducted by USAID, only 4% of learners in grade 2 were meeting the emergent reader benchmark set by ministry of education.
He has therefore called on parents, teachers and school management to ensure they instill a reading culture among pupils at an early stage for them to be skillful citizens.
