Celebrating World Book Day 2023
Statement by Minister David Maynier, Minister of Education Western Cape
UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated on the 23rd of April each year to recognise the importance of books and authors, and to encourage everyone to read books.
In anticipation of World Book Day 2023, officials from the WCED’s Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI) and Education Library and Information Service (EDULIS) visited Rouxville Primary School in Kuils River on Friday, 21 April 2023, to hand over books to Foundation Phase learners.
Our officials were clearly in the spirit of celebrating, dressing up in character costumes to capture the imagination of our learners! Staff at Head Office and the Ministry also joined in the fun by dressing up as characters from books on Friday.
Improving our children’s reading is a key priority for the Western Cape Government, and this starts with making sure our youngest learners have access to books that will support their learning.
We are currently rolling out a massive intervention to improve reading for meaning, which includes providing new decodable readers and anthologies for the Foundation Phase to our primary schools.
The R96 million investment, which forms part of the Western Cape Reading Strategy, covers three languages, and will substantially increase the amount of reading material in our schools.
But raising literacy levels requires a joint effort by government, researchers, civil society, and all the residents of our province: a collective effort we call Team READ. Parents play an especially important role in improving their children’s reading skills.
So I encourage every parent – particularly those with young children – to read a book with their child today. A love of reading is a priceless gift, and the earlier our learners develop this valuable skill, the better!
Media Enquiries:
Kerry Mauchline
Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier
Western Cape Ministry of Education
Kerry.Mauchline@westerncape.gov.za