By: Menelisi Ndwandwe

“Let’s make sure that all the kids have a book in their hands reading. Read, finish and come back for another.”

These were the words of Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, at the Masivuke Primary School in Philipi, Cape Town, when the national ministry along with the Western

Cape education portfolio were celebrating International Literacy Day.

Motshekga encouraged communities to donate books to schools.

She added that those who read always perform better than those who do not read.

The 8th of September is documented by the United Nations (UN) as the International Literacy Day.

According to internationalliteracyday.org, “This day gives children and communities a chance to rediscover the joys of reading while raising awareness for those without access to
education.”

Meanwhile MEC of Education in Western Cape, Dobbie Schafer announced at Masivuke that they will be launching the eLearning and ePortal.

“This initiative will be the game changer in the education fraternity in the province, Minister

Motshekga and Premier Helen Zille will be present in the launch this afternoon,” said Schafer.

The Western Cape will be the second province to introduce this initiative after Gauteng did it at the beginning of the year.

Nomkhosi Gwala, a 4th year student in Education at the University of KwaZulu- Natal, said that literacy is important to the life of an individual.

“It’s a most important aspect, if frees you, it liberates you, it changes your mind set.

This year’s international literacy day is very crucial since in 2000 the UN set up the Millennium

Development Goals of 2015.

Goal number two specify that by 2015  children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling,” said Gwala.

Businessman, Hermann Erdmann, said that supporting the literacy day is supporting sustainable societies.