Rajasthan government has taken an important step towards strengthening the culture of reading in government schools. With the aim of increasing students’ interest in books and news, improving their language and getting information about the country and the world, reading newspapers daily has now been made mandatory in all government schools. The government believes that if children develop the habit of reading newspapers from an early age, then their way of thinking will improve and they will become more conscious citizens.
According to the order issued by the State School Education Department on December 31, now time has been fixed for reading newspapers for at least 10 minutes during the morning prayer meeting in every government school. During this, students will read newspaper news and try to understand them. The main objective of this initiative is to connect students with everyday events, changes happening in the country and the world and issues related to society.
The government says that today most of the time of children is being spent on mobile and social media. Due to this, their attention is getting diverted from studies. In such a situation, this initiative of reading newspapers is a good effort to keep children away from screens and take them towards knowledge. Reading newspapers not only increases knowledge but also has a positive effect on children’s reading speed, understanding and language.
Special focus will be on language skills
The Education Department has made it clear that along with reading newspapers, full emphasis will also be laid on language improvement. According to the instructions, it will be necessary to have at least two newspapers in government senior secondary schools and English medium schools. These will include one Hindi and one English newspaper. At the same time, it has been made mandatory to provide at least two Hindi newspapers in government upper primary schools.
The entire cost of subscription of these newspapers will be borne by Rajasthan School Education Council, Jaipur. This means there will be no additional burden on schools or parents. The government wants that every student should get the opportunity to read newspapers, no matter what background he comes from.
Efforts will also be made to increase the vocabulary
Special attention will also be given to increasing the vocabulary of the students while reading the newspaper. Schools have been instructed to choose at least five new words from the newspaper every day. The meanings of these words should be explained to the students and they should also be taught to use them in sentences. This will strengthen the children’s hold on both Hindi and English languages.
One national level Hindi newspaper and one English newspaper will be read aloud in the morning meeting. With this, children will also develop the habit of correct pronunciation, understanding and listening to sentences. Many children can read, but hesitate in speaking. This exercise will also help in removing their hesitation.
Group discussion will increase self-confidence
The government has also instructed schools to divide students into small groups according to class. In these groups, children will discuss newspaper editorial articles, big news from India and abroad and events related to the sports world. Teachers will guide the children and encourage them to express their views openly. This kind of discussion will increase the self-confidence of children. They will learn to express their opinions and also develop the habit of listening to others. This will also develop their ability to reason and understand right and wrong.
Will also help in competitive examinations
Officials say that this program is not limited to school studies only. Reading newspapers will strengthen the general knowledge of children, which will be very useful in competitive examinations later on. Be it a government job exam or any other kind of entrance exam, the role of general knowledge and current affairs always remains important.
Now students will read newspapers in Rajasthan too, special attention will be paid to these things
