More than 50% of Students in both Senior High and Basic Schools in the Kwaebibirem District of the Eastern Region can neither read nor write, the Ghana Education Service has disclosed.

The Kwaebibirem District Director of Education, Samuel Ntow, has blamed the situation on inadequate reading materials for students.

He told Starr News concerted efforts are underway to tackle the disturbing situation.

“The literacy rate is very low, it’s below 50%. And that is not even with the basic schools alone, even when you go to secondary school, some people can’t read. So some people will say then how did they pass their exams; only God knows.

” But still we are doing some kind of literacy works at the senior High schools. I’m going to meet the old students of Asuom SHS who are going to present some literature books to the students so they can read and excel in their exams,” he told Starr News Kojo Ansah.

The Kwaebibirem District Director of Education said this when the District received its share of about 200,000 pencils being donated to various metropolitan, municipalities and district education directorates in Ghana by KANEKO Pencil Company Limited, a pencil producing company in Japan, in collaboration with PMKF (a company in Ghana)

Paul Amaning who made the donation on behalf of two companies said the donation is to help improve on education in the District.