Over the next few months, Education Department officials will be doing plenty of extracurricular reading, primarily children’s literature. With an increasing number of children turning to the screen for entertainment, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education wants them to get hooked on books, not just textbooks. In order to inculcate the reading habit from a young age, officials plan to develop children’s literature — stories that touch upon topics such as human rights, gender sensitivity, and civic issues, without being preachy.
The department is looking at both, generating fresh content as well as identifying children’s books for this purpose. Schools across the State will have to stock them in their libraries for students.
“We want these books to make an impression in the minds of children. We also want to design them so that students are able to connect to them in the current context,” said Ajay Seth, Additional Chief Secretary of the department. This was also one of the budget promises made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had allocated ₹5 crore in the 2017-2018 State Budget for this.
As a first step, officials will be conducting a workshop and brainstorming session later this month, with people who have been working in the field of children’s literature and education. “We want to request all the writers to help us out in this endeavour,” Mr. Seth added.
