(On Nehase 13, 2017 E.C.) The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with World Vision Ethiopia, has organized the first national reading assembly.

At the time when Dr. Muluken Ngatu, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Education’s Teacher and School Leadership Development Directorate, opened the assembly, he explained that reading skills are the first and fundamental skills to be learned, and that it is necessary to work diligently to improve students’ reading skills.

He emphasized that all educational stakeholders, including parents, should contribute their share to ensure that students develop the appropriate reading skills starting from the lower grades.

Dr. Muluken also expressed his gratitude to the member organizations of the consortium, especially World Vision Ethiopia, for their blessed contributions, and stated his confidence that they will complete and continue the work they have started so that the consortium’s work will be effective and the assembly successful.

Mr. Samuel Tadesse, the Education Program Officer at World Vision Ethiopia, highlighted that the national reading consortium has been established for one year. He noted that alongside other related activities, studies have been focused on assessing the current status of students’ reading skills at the national level and on identifying strategies and actions to improve these skills. He also mentioned efforts to build the country’s experience and capacity in this area.

Members of the consortium and the Ministry of Education have agreed that working diligently is essential as a starting point, and that preparing a national reading policy framework is one of the assembly’s goals to ensure the proper continuation of this work.

During the assembly, studies conducted by the consortium team on children’s reading skills, as well as experiences and practices from various countries, were presented and discussed.