The CEG Sotouboua ville 1 and the high school of the Notre Dame de la Paix school complex won the prizes of the inter-school secondary school reading competition. The competition takes place on March 22 in Sotouboua in central Togo. The idea through the organization of this competition is to encourage reading in schools. The reading deficit in schools is no longer a debate. It’s a paradoxical situation, because at school, no one can learn anything without reading. And yet it is this fundamental activity to which students are resistant, especially in Africa and more particularly in Togo. So the initiative of the town hall of the Commune Sotouboua 1 is timely! It is carried out as part of the celebration of the International Day of La Francophonie. Financial support comes from the International Association of Francophone Mayors -AIMF-.
We are Wednesday evening. Here in the courtyard of the cultural center in the town of Sotouboua, 280 kilometers north of Togo, students have marked a special truce for outdoor activities.
A multicolored public floor: school principals, teachers, parents of pupils, a crowd of pupils and onlookers… contrasts with a twilight sun with attenuated rays. All in an atmosphere of sound and an indescribable hubbub. The show was great!
As part of the celebration of the International Day of La Francophonie, commemorated each year on March 20, the municipality of Sotouboua 1, with the financial support of the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), organized an inter-school competition of secondary.
Fight against a real lack of interest in reading in sub-Saharan Africa?
Based on the quality of education systems in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, by analyzing the performance and the teaching-learning environment in primary education, the program that assesses performance has come to a conclusion: « Au Togo mathematics and reading constitute the defect of the breastplate of the pupils. Out of a sample of 8,000 pupils and 1,400 teachers from 400 schools, nearly 8 out of 10 pupils, or 75.6%, have trouble with mathematics. In this same batch, 32% are completely dropped. On the reading side, 61.1% of pupils would encounter enormous difficulties. Pupils from other countries do not necessarily do better than Togolese pupils, even if there is no comparison between Gabonese pupils, 93% of whom are reading aces. » Conclusion of the second grouped evaluation of CONFEMEN’s Education Systems Analysis Program (PASEC2019), presented to the educational world.
Reading to facilitate student success
Everyone knows the importance of reading works. Indeed, reading allows learners to better succeed in French, and allows a better understanding of other subjects. But the problem is that the students are no longer interested in reading. This is why the town hall of Sotouboua initiated this contest: to encourage students to read!
The city of Sotouboua has decided to make it a priority: organize a contest to encourage reading!
They are 20 candidates from 4 schools they represent. These are the Sotouboua city high school, the CS-Notre Dame de la Paix, the CEG Sotouboua city 1 and 2.
The students therefore performed in front of an audience in a reading-show, with extracts from texts taken from works in the school program.
After their brilliant presentations, the Notre Dame de la Paix School Complex, and the CEG Sotouboua city 1, occupied the first place, respectively in front of the high school Sotouboua city and the CEG Sotouboua city 2.
As a reward, the ND Paix school complex at the high school level and the CEG Sotouboua ville I at the college level which won the first prizes, while the participating schools received literary and school books to give them a taste for reading. . A trophy, novels, notebooks and pens… awarded to the champions. And to all the candidates, notebooks and pens for a consolation prize.
An event that met expectations, and even exceeded!
The city of Sotouboua has kept its promises! The gaze remains riveted to the other demonstrations with the AIMF for the great happiness of its populations.
Thanks to this action, the town hall of Sotouboua 1 marked the International Day of La Francophonie. The satisfaction of the organizers, the participants and the public spectators was great.
We must again and again remind ourselves of the importance of reading. According to the mayor, Gnanguissa Plibam, the choice of theme is not accidental. “Knowledge is in books…” And to address the learners: “I invite you, students, to always visit libraries in order to improve your knowledge, to prepare well for exams, and your future. I throw flowers to the teachers for the good supervision of the learners, who are the next generation of tomorrow…”
Mayor Plibam Gnanguissa thanked the AIMF which supported the event. He also urged all participants (students in particular) to acquire a taste and love reading, because according to him, it is the key to academic success.
Beyond questions concerning reading, it should be noted that AIMF funding has enabled member cities to co-host these events. The goal was also to contribute to the appropriation by the inhabitants of the issues raised by the Francophonie and to create cooperation between the French-speaking cities. Mission accomplished!
About the call for projects
Any project sees the light of day thanks to its funding… The International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF) has set up a fund of 50,000 euros, financed within the framework of its agreement with the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs . Recall that the project of the town hall of the Commune of Sotouboua 1, was selected following a call for projects, it thus benefited from an envelope of 1000 euros. Thanks to the funders. And let’s look ahead to future projects, to see how to renew this positive experience!
Aristide Kawele