MEC Delivers Donated Books Ahead of World Book Day | Western Cape Government

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MEC Delivers Donated Books Ahead of World Book Day

21 April 2010
This afternoon, Western Cape Education Minister Donald Grant personally delivered twenty boxes of books to Equal Education's "The Bookery" ahead of tomorrow's World Book and Copyright Day.

The Education Ministry has obtained a donation of books from Oxford University Press for delivery to Equal Education's school library book drive.

"What better way to celebrate the 15th World Book and Copyright Day than contributing to our school libraries in the Western Cape, as it is important that we encourage our children to discover the pleasure of reading," said Grant.

"Books improve our knowledge and understanding of the world and expand our imagination. But most importantly, children who see reading as part of everyday life stand a much better chance of succeeding at school. Literacy skills, such as reading, language and writing, are an integral part of the national curriculum, therefore, putting a book in every child's hands is a priority for this government."

Grant said placing books in classrooms and building text-rich school environments will contribute significantly to building strong foundations in literacy.

"That is why, over the next financial year, we will spend an extra R100 million on providing texts to schools. This spending is in addition to the norms and standards allocation to schools and will target the foundation phase or Grades one (1) to three (3)."

Grant said that further to creating text-rich classrooms, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has invested R120 million in establishing libraries in the poorest schools in the province over the past three years.

"This investment has seen, amongst other things, three hundred and twenty five thousand (325 000) books being provided to schools. A further R40-million will be invested in school libraries this year. The investment will form part of a broader strategy to ensure print-rich environments in schools."

Grant said that today's generous contribution from Oxford University Press would benefit school libraries in areas such as Khayelitsha.

"This administration is focusing a lot of our energy on improving learner outcomes in Khayelitsha, so we are delighted that we can contribute books that will contribute to their studies," said Grant.

"Each box contains books such as, among others, the South African Atlas, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, an English and Xhosa dictionary, play scripts such as Nadia Davids 'Cissie' and Omphile Molusi's 'Itsoseng' and Grade twelve (12) study guides for short stories."

Media Enquiries: 


Bronagh Casey
Spokesperson
Minister of Education, Donald Grant
Western Cape
Cell: 072 724 1422
Tel: 021 467 2377