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Education Ministry Receives 1-year N$1 Million Namibia Reads Application Sponsorship

By: Hertha Ekandjo

The education ministry has received a one-year complimentary sponsorship of the Namibia Reads Application, valued at $1 million, from the Smart Kids Club and Foundation For Accessible Children’s Education (FACE) in the USA.

The education deputy minister, Faustina Caley, revealed this on Thursday during the Inauguration of the 6th Namibia Library and Information Council (NLIC) in Windhoek.

“The ministry received a one-year complimentary sponsorship of the Namibia Reads Application, valued at one million American Dollars,” said Caley.

According to her, the application is a carefully curated digital library that allows young children easy access to narrated and illustrated e-books in an environment free of adverts, with animation, videos and games.

Caley emphasised that the sponsorship is to assist in improving the core skills in literacy and numeracy.

She further explained that the sponsorship also assists the ministry in ensuring equal access to information and promoting the love for reading among children.

Moreover, she said the application was launched on 21 March 2020 and ended on 20 March 2021.

However, she said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the sponsors offered an extension of the application for another year which started on 1 April 2021, to 31 March 2022.

“Again, the board of directors of the FACE accorded the ministry further extension for the next three years, from April 2022 to March 2025,” she said.

Furthermore, Caley encouraged the council members to market the application countrywide so that every Namibian child could benefit from the gesture.

According to her, 6358 books were distributed to all 65 libraries in all 14 regions to ensure that library users have access to information to better their lives.

“The National Library of Namibia is mandated by the Act of Parliament to serve as a national centre for the conservation of material emanating from Namibia or relating to Namibia, with the aim to promote awareness and appreciate the existence of Namibia’s national heritage,” she explained.

The deputy minister highlighted that the national library is mandated to receive free publications as part of a legal deposit, a legal requirement stipulated under section 8 of the Namibia Library and Information Service Act.

Caley stated that the current NLIC is made up of a strong team led by the Director of the University of Science & Technology (NUST) Library.

She further explained that NLIC members are responsible for advising the ministry and political decision-makers on how libraries and allied information agencies may best meet Namibians’ information needs and aspirations.

Furthermore, she said that the members are to support the information community by promoting resources-sharing, networking, collaboration, standardisation and service coordination.

Hertha Ekandjo

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