The crucial role education plays in nation building has been reiterated by the Registrar of the Scholarship Secretariat, Dr Kingsley Agyemang, at the launch of a reading competition for lower basic schools.

The competition, 'Kingsley Agyemang Readathon Challenge' for schools in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region, aims to nurture the reading culture of basic pupils as a foundation tool.

He stressed that the project is a tool of power to empower and nurturing the seeds of future leaders.

He underscored his continuous commitment to education in the municipality through various educational initiatives for students in both junior high and senior high schools.

He added that he was concerned about a 2015 report of the National Standardized Assessment Test which was conducted for pupils in basic 2, and which showed that 98 percent of them could not read.

Again in 2022, the same report indicated 62 percent found it difficult to read.

He emphasized that the statistics from the National Standardized Assessment Test report was not a pleasant one and should be a wake-up call on all stakeholders.

The newest educational initiative - the Kingsley Readathon Challenge, was launched last week Thursday in the auditorium of the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education and witnessed by government officials, teachers, pupils and parents.

The Readathon Challenge seeks to motivate lower basic school pupils to cultivate the love for reading to increase their lexicon.

This competition complements the numerous educational initiatives introduced and implemented within the municipality over the years by Dr Kingsley Agyemang.

Each of the schools were given 15 sets of reading materials out of which they will be tested on word spelling, reading proficiency, word formation, or word building from a mother word, comprehension and character description.

He encouraged pupils and parents to take the reading challenge serious.

The Municipal Director for Education at the Abuakwa South, Comfort Ofori-Appiah, indicated that the various educational interventions rolled out so far: the Kingsley Maths and Science Quiz for JHS students, the Kingsley Spelling Challenge for upper primary students, Time With Kingsley Series; mentorship for Senior High School students, and Kingsley Vacation Classes, among others continue to impact positively on the performance of the students in the municipality.

She expressed her sincere appreciation to Dr. Kingsley Agyemang and his partners for their thoughtfulness and their commitment to ensuring that learning outcomes are enhanced in the municipality.

The support and kind gesture of individuals, institutions and corporate sponsors; Ghana Education Service, Kingdom Books and Stationery, Vibe Travel Consult, Luki Media Gh, JL Properties, Functions Risk Consult and Beulah Insurance Brokers, were highly acknowledged for the success of the programme.