Reading corners in more than 300 schools in Senegal

TAMBACOUNDA (Senegal), April 12, 2022 – Aissatou Sow, 10, from the Plateau 2 elementary school, in the city of Tambacounda, is delighted to see a small reading corner set up in her classroom. In addition to the new French and math textbooks that have recently arrived, entertainment books have also been made available to students.

"I am currently learning to read. But I mostly look at the pictures and the teacher tells us the story" says Aissatou. "It would be even better if we added more books, especially comics. That's what interests me the most," she says.

"In any case, I hope that after my studies in this school, I will be able to read all these books. I dream of being able to continue my studies" she tells us with confidence.

"The reading corner arouses a lot of curiosity among the pupils of this class. During the break period, some pupils prefer to stay in the reading corner to browse and leaf through the books. I can say that the setting up of these reading corners has greatly contributed to develop children’s curiosity, especially since we organize regular reading sessions during the course periods" explained Lala Kane, 38, teacher of this class.

She hosted two cohorts of 65 students in her class and testifies to the change that has occurred among students since the establishment of these reading corners.

In order to promote the culture of reading and to facilitate, to this end, the access of underprivileged pupils to reading materials, UNICEF, with the financial support of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has experimented with the Ministry of National Education the implantation of reading corners in schools across the country.

"We have set up reading corners in 50 schools in the region, benefiting more than 27,500 students, with more than 2,500 textbooks, mats, school-boxes and chairs - to ensure their proper installation" says Babacar Diack, Inspector of the Academy of the Tambacounda region.

"Feedbacks from students and teachers were very positive, as they had no access to such resources before. These reading corners provide students with free access to reading materials and are also used by teaching teams to diversify their pedagogical approaches" adds Babacar Diack.

Throughout the country, more than 300 public elementary schools benefitted from this project - including 50 in Tambacounda, 60 in Kolda, 40 in Matam, 40 in Sédhiou, 40 in Zinguinchor, 30 in Kaffrine, 25 in Kédougou and 15 in Dakar, in the suburb of Pikine Guediawaye, reaching more than 98,000 students. The reading corners should integrate the operational mechanism for the implementation of the Harmonized Model of Bilingual Education in Senegal (MOHEBS), following the latest guidelines formulated by the Ministry of National Education.

Feedback received from pupils and teachers was overall very positive, commending the initiative and formulating recommendations for its extension, including additional materials to consolidate and expand reading options, and the inclusion of games such as chess to promote problem solving and strategic thinking skills.

"Reading does not only open the doors of the imagination, it does not only widen horizons. It allows the child to learn new things, to develop his language, to enrich his vocabulary and to improve many other life skills, such as problem solving, communication and of course linguistics" explained Silvia Danailov, UNICEF Representative in Senegal.