“Many KwaZulu-Natal learners come from communities which do not have libraries and it is shown that access to libraries improves learner performance and increases their chances of success. Without proper resources there can be no equity in education,” says Imraan Noorbhai, Standard Bank’s provincial head in KZN.
With this in mind, Standard Bank KZN has embarked on an exciting project of providing mobile libraries to six deserving schools located in the vicinity of their major branches in KZN, namely Newcastle, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, Durban/Westville, Phoenix/Umhlanga and Chatsworth/Pinetown regions.
“A literate, educated society is a safer, healthier and more prosperous society. So by promoting reading, writing, and other academic subjects it will lead the way in promoting prosperity through knowledge. It is envisaged that the introduction of these mobile libraries to the six previously disadvantaged schools will go a long way towards improving the literacy rate in our province,” continues Noorbhai.
In September 2015, the minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, issued a call to all South Africans to make the country a reading nation. The Department of Basic Education launched the 'One Thousand School Libraries' campaign. One thousand libraries, reading corners or container libraries will be built or refurbished every year to ensure that by 2019 every school has access to adequate reading material, especially to encourage recreational reading.
The launch of the Standard Bank 'Every Child Must Read' campaign was held at the bank’s regional office in Kingsmead Office Park recently. The Deputy Minister of the Department of Basic Education, Enver Surty, was in attendance.
He praised Standard Bank for this initiative and urged all South Africans to come on board. "We need to give books as gifts, we need to read to our children and get them to read to us. This cannot be done in schools alone we need to read in our homes as well,” said Surty.
The roll-out of the libraries to the beneficiary schools will be coordinated and managed by Ahmed Motala of the New Africa Education Foundation, an NPO that has partnered with Standard Bank and the Department of Basic Education.
