New Edubiase (Ash), Sept 20, GNA- The Ghana Book Trust (GBT) supplied 44,280 books to all the 128 primary schools in the former Adansi East district on a ratio of one child to two books. Mr R.K. Amoako, Executive Director of GTB, who announced this said the Trust, would supply about 66,420 books this year to primary schools in the former Adansi East District.

Speaking at the opening of a six-day sensitisation and HIV/AIDS awareness workshop at New Edubiase at the weekend for 136 teachers and circuit supervisors, he said another 44,280 books would be supplied to the schools by 2005 to complete the target of one child to seven books in the district.

The workshop was aimed at equipping the teachers and circuit supervisors in the area with modern skills and techniques in teaching reading, how to handle gender issues and present basic facts on HIV/AIDS to the pupils.

The programme formed part of the primary schools library project being sponsored by the GBT with funding from the Canadian Organisation for Development Through Education (CODE) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for teachers and circuit supervisors.

Mr Amoako said GBT believed that supplying books alone did not necessarily mean that the children would read them and that was why the Trust had designed a three-year training programme in reading skills for teachers so that they could impart same to the children.

Mr Willy Rangira, CODE Programme Officer for West Africa Programmes, said the organisation was providing reading books for students, the training of teachers in reading skills and the development of primary school libraries throughout CODE countries to support literacy and education programmes.

Mr A. Kofi Britwum, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, appealed to teachers in basic schools to intensify the teaching of reading skills because the ability to read was the gateway to literacy.