Venterspost Primary School received the nal’ibali literacy charter following International School Library month.
The initiative was brought about as a result of a partnership between the national-reading-for enjoyment campaign, the Gauteng Education Department, and the Gauteng Library and Information Services.
The charter was launched earlier this year on World Book Day and project aims to ensure that 1 000 school libraries – of all shapes and sizes – receive a charter to highlight key experiences pupils need to go through while learning to read and write. The charter comprises of 11 rights which represent the 11 languages of South Africa.
An example of one of the rights is that children need to easily find a variety of reading and writing materials in their immediate environment. In addition to this, children need to be in an environment that fosters an interest in literacy – they need to be motivated.
The handing over of the charter marks the second big encounter with literacy for the school in the last month. Prior to the charter, the school made an appearance at the official handing over of the new Venterspost Library where they contributed to the day through song and dance. This is as a result of being one of the key beneficiaries of the library.
“All children deserve the opportunity to become fully literate citizens,” commented Righardt le Roux, Nal’ibali Schools and Public Library Coordinator at the official handover.
Koekie Meyer, director of Library and Archives Gauteng, states that, “…only if a nation is literate, can it be truly an informed and democratic society.”
