Papua New Guinea’s most-prominent book publisher,
Robert Brown, has expressed concern about falling literacy levels in the
country.
Prominent PNG book publisher Robert Brown. |
He said
the reading culture prevalent among young people in the 1970s was no longer
there, hence, the very low literacy levels even among university students.
He
attributed this to the lack of good quality publications relevant to PNG.
“Totally
inadequate,” Brown said.
“We need
to do more in bringing books to the children in the schools and also to the
general public.
“There’s
more to be got out of books than in front of computers, television, and so on.
“The
lack of bookshops in Papua New Guinea is very sad.
“You
name me on bookshop in Papua New Guinea now.”
Brown
also said the children of the 1970s were much more literate than the children
of today.
“Absolutely,”
he said.
“The
power of the book, in lots of ways, has been underestimated.
“It’s
quite strange that in America, most people who are educators use comics as a
medium to educate to read.
“We used
to sell lots of comics up here, you don’t see this anymore.
“It at
least got the kids reading.
“Reading’s
the word.
“As you
say, a kid in university can’t write his own name, and that’s sad. “
Brown,
however, added that times were changing and more people would be taking to
books.
“Things
are starting to move again,” he said.
“It’s a
bit sad that it’s taken so long.
“Things
are taking a turn for the better, but we still need people to invest in
bookshops…I think it’s time someone bites the bullet and opens up a decent
bookshop in Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, and Rabaul.”
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete