‘Zim reading culture in sharp decline’

By The NewsDay | Jul. 30, 2015 | 2 Min read

DESPITE having one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, Zimbabwe has suffered a sharp decline in reading culture owing to emphasis on passing examinations, the high costs of buying books and piracy, Great Zimbabwe University lecturer Godwin Makaudze has said.

BY KENNEDY NYAVAYA

Presenting a paper at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair Indaba held in the capital, Makaudze said the problem could be attributed to different issues but he emphasised the need to re-orient the education system.

“The Zimbabwean school system needs to be re-oriented so that focus and emphasis are not placed on passing examinations, but on striking a balance between high literacy and a reading culture,” he said.

He also said that there was serious need to interpret some of the books that are written in foreign languages like English as well and, in the process, uplifting Shona and Ndebele into official languages.

“(There is) need for the translation of good and thought-provoking literature from other languages into the languages accessible to the Zimbabwean readership,” he said.

“Although people love English, the platforms for its use remain official business and sometimes even during business, people largely revert to their indigenous languages.”

Veteran playwright and author Stephen Chifunyise lauded the Book Fair for the indaba, but said there was need for art work to be disseminated through different mediums.

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“What has been declared here is to make both mediums available but at the moment hard copies are not available because of the piracy issue (and) soft copy is not available too because a lot of people do not know how to access it,” he said.

The indaba was a two-day workshop for local authors to gain more knowledge in a wide range of topics including migration from hard copies to digital books as well as fighting the effect of rampant piracy.