The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has commended the Kitson Town Primary School in St Catherine, for its novel and pace setting trend in literacy which has inspired nine of its students in becoming authors, concurrently.

The compliments to the nine authors from Grade 5 were extended on behalf of the PPC by Erica James-King, the PPC’s public relations and public education officer. She was keynote speaker at the Kitson Town Primary School’s recent book launch.

James-King congratulated Kitson Town Primary School for nurturing literary excellence among its students, which empowered its pupils in honing their creativity, writing skills and determination to have their own books published.

“Heartiest congratulations to the Grade 5 students who took the bold move to write their thoughts and experiences, and to put together a compilation of their written expressions!” James-King remarked.

“It is because of your initiative, Grade 5 students, that we are here today for this book launch. We celebrate you and your work!”

She further lauded the students, “A book launch is a significant milestone in the life of any school and any organisation. It is an even more momentous and phenomenal occasion when the authors are 10-year-old and 11-year-old children. Whole-hearted commendation to Kitson Town Primary School on your book launch!”

Speaking on the topic, ‘Painting Imaginations through the Written Word’, the PPC public relations and public education officer prescribed a four-pronged approach which schools and parents should implement to boost the literacy levels of children.

The components of the approach are: 1) Recognise that there is a mutual or interdependent relationship between reading and writing. This realisation should prompt adults to encourage children to be voracious readers and to also take the initiative to read to children. 2) Inspire children to seek out and learn from biographies, autobiographies and writings of persons who have succeeded against the odds. 3) Encourage journalling among children; and 4) Motivate youth to be purveyors of hope through their written, verbal and visual expressions.

James-King further articulated that the four-pronged approach is necessary if Jamaica is to improve its literacy levels.

She bemoaned the unsettling fact that the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission reported that the 2019 Primary Exit Profile examinations revealed 33 per cent of students cannot read or can barely read; and 56 per cent of students cannot, or can barely write.

Lamenting that the literacy levels of Jamaicans fall below that of most of its Caricom neighbours, she shared that Jamaica has an adult literacy rate of 88.1 per cent. She attributed the data to the 2015 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Country Profile of Jamaica. She said the absence of formal school for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic is believed to have caused an even lower literacy level.

Additionally, she cited the UNESCO survey of 2015, which revealed that Antigua and Barbuda experienced a literacy rate of 99 per cent. Pointing to other data on literacy in the region, James-King mentioned that in 2014, Grenada’s literacy rate was 98.6 per cent, and that of Barbados was 99.6 per cent; while in 2010, Trinidad and Tobago’s was 98.7 per cent.

The public relations and public education officer recommended that parents and teachers be cognisant of the co-dependent relationship between reading and writing, and pay keener attention to encouraging reading by children.

“When you read to your child, you help the child to develop better vocabulary and communication skills, as well as you help the child learn how to deal with their feelings and emotions,” she explained. “When you encourage your child to read frequently, there is an increased probability that your child will develop a lifelong love of reading.”

She advised that frequent reading fuels a burning desire in children to write at their best and to model the writing styles of the authors or writers whose work they read.

James-King cautioned, “You cannot become a child of literary excellence, unless you read a lot. You cannot have a school of excellence unless you have students who enjoy reading, writing, imagining and documenting their imagination.”

She highlighted that psychological studies have proven that reading to one’s child or frequent reading by a child has major benefits to the child including: increased concentration and discipline, improved language skills, improved imagination and creativity, cognitive development, advancement in critical thinking and enhanced understanding of the world.

Meanwhile, James-King challenged the students to read the biographies of Jamaica’s first national hero and pan-Africanist Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Trinidadian nationalist Eric Williams, and South African civil rights activist Bishop Desmond Tutu.

She underscored the need for the authorities to, as a matter of urgency, fast-track its roll-out of the teaching of Garveyism in schools. Pointing out that the Kitson Town Primary is not one of the schools which has so far benefited under the Ministry of Education and Youth’s pilot project to teach the philosophies of Garvey in 23 schools islandwide, James-King commented that Garveyism would “help youth better understand their identity and how they can make a bold difference in the society”.

She opined that whether or not the philosophies of Garvey are taught in schools, parents and teachers have a civic responsibility to familiarise themselves with those philosophies and share them with their children.

She encouraged the youth to also read the autobiographies of other Jamaicans who have made a significant difference in their society, such as Jamaican poet Claude McKay, wife of Jamaica’s national hero and first prime minister — Lady Bustamante, and Jamaican journalists Earl Moxam and Phillips Thomas. She recommended that the youth also read the autobiographies of South African president and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, the first black president of the United States Barack Obama, as well as the autobiography and autobiographical poems of Maya Agelou.