The Mpumalanga Department of Education will on Thursday, March 17, host the 2015 Annual School Library of the year competition at the Mbombela Municipality Civic Theatre.
This competition has been conceptualised following the International School Library day which is celebrated annually in October.
The goal of the Mpumalanga School Library of The Year is not to identify winners and losers. Rather to enhance the delivery of quality education in schools.
The MEC for education, Ms Reginah Mhaule, said the aim of the event is to focus on the schools that have managed to develop the most, during that particular school year. She added that the department encouraged excellence, commitment and creativity with regards to the management and utilisation of libraries in our schools.
“As schools raise the standard of their libraries they further contribute towards enhancing the quality of education in the Province. Most of our learners have reading problems, which is why our schools must inculcate the culture of reading at a tender age,” said the MEC Reginah Mhaule.
She further indicated that if learners cannot read well, they are bound to experience challenges during their studies. The core function of the school library services is to make sure that schools have adequate and appropriate reading material.
“The Department identifies not winners, but those schools that have demonstrated the highest development in terms of managing their libraries as information hubs. These are the schools which were able make significant strides in enriching their curriculum by inculcating the love of reading amongst their learners,” said Mhaule.
In the 2015/16 financial year, the department has already spent about R10-million in resourcing 40 school libraries.
Various schools from the four districts will receive awards on the Basic and Advanced Library Categories. Educators are going to receive awards on the following categories;
- Mpumalanga School Library of the Year 2015.
- The Mpumalanga Teacher-Librarian of the Year 2015.
- The Mpumalanga Most Supportive Teacher of the Year 2015;
- The Mpumalanga Most Frequent Library User of the Year 2015;
- The Mpumalanga Library Monitor of the Year 2015.
