By ANDREW PHIRI –
THE Livingstone Press Club has urged secondary school pupils to develop a good reading culture to improve their grammar and writing skills.
Livingstone Press Club secretary general Edwin Mbulo said a good reading culture among pupils was important in ensuring that they improved their performance in school.
Mr Mbulo noted that most young people had no time to read and were in the habit of playing video games or watching movies, which was not helpful in their education.
He said this at David Livingstone Secondary School in Livingstone on Thursday when the Livingstone Press Club launched its project of promoting press clubs among pupils in secondary schools.
“The benefits of the project include inculcating good grammar, reading and writing skills as well as news writing and newsletter skills among pupils.
“Most pupils fail to write properly because they don’t have time to read. The more you read, the more you improve your grammar and other writing skills,” Mr Mbulo said.
He said the Livingstone Press Club would soon go to other secondary schools in the tourist capital to promote the culture of reading and writing among pupils.
He said press club members in schools would be taken to various media houses in Livingstone and Lusaka so that they could appreciate the process of news writing and reporting.
In his presentation during the gathering, Livingstone Press Club president Brian Hatyoka said the promotion of press clubs in schools would also encourage pupils to take up a career in journalism.
Mr Hatyoka said press club members would also join journalists and other media practitioners in a march past during the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2014.
Livingstone Press Club vice-treasurer Brina Siwale also presented on news writing skills during the function.