With a view to developing the reading skill and book reading habit among the infants, a programme titled “Kids Read” was launched in the port city’s Chandgaon area yesterday morning.
British Council hosted the event with the slogan of “Reading is Fun” in Naziria Naymia Mahmuda madrasha of BSCIC industrial area, where education secretary Md Nazrul Islam Khan was as the chief guest.
The BC launched it under its worldwide pilot project financed by Hong Kong and Sanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).
Nazrul Islam Khan said there was no alternative way, except reading extracurricular books to explore the dreamy world of knowledge while the text books contain limited knowledge.
“Over 50 percent of books have been written up in English and that is why the students have to learn the language as now it is the major medium to enter the enormous knowledge of the modern world,” the secretary continued.
HSBC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Bangladesh Francois de Maricourt termed the programme unique tool for the teachers as well as the guardians to build up reading skills and literacy behaviour of children.
The CEO went on: “The event will arouse the interest among the students to learn a lot of things when they will be attached with 50,000 kids across the world including the Middle East and North African region.”
Six educational institutions including three madrasas there were selected for the pilot project where the secretary and the CEO handed distributed books to the respective institutional heads.
BC’s Senior Consultant Andrew Jones moderated the launching event where famous storyteller Alec Williams from the UK told the kids stories during the story telling session.
Asian Women University’s Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr Fahima Aziz, BC Chittagong Manager Nahid Khan and Resource Centre Officer Mashudul Alam, among others, were present there.