The British Council and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) launched the second edition of ‘Kids Read’, a storytelling programme for primary school children (grades 1 – 6) in Bangladesh.
This programme aims to reach over 10,000 (ten thousand) students from eight primary schools in Dhaka city. Each school will receive a set of ninety popular storybook titles from the United Kingdom (UK) to improve the English language skills of the participating children.
‘Kids Read’ is an award-winning scheme developed to help children enjoy reading, as teachers and parents often struggle to find ways to motivate children to read. Since 2015, Bangladesh has been one of eight countries in Asia, where the programme has been implemented to support the Ministry of Education’s work in English language and literacy development. Through this initiative, the teachers from the selected schools are also taught to be more interactive and engaging with the students.
The first edition of the ‘Kids Read’ programme was implemented in three Madrasas and three Government Primary Schools in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar.
Over three thousand students and thirty-six teachers participated in the previous edition. The institutions were selected based on the needs of the students and each school received a set of around 50 popular UK storybook titles.
‘Kids Read’, developed by The British Council, and supported by grants from HSBC, has been supporting many different aspects for the children, teachers, school administration staff and parents of Bangladesh through school events, community events and competitions.
Abdullah Al Jubayer, Manager, Corporate Sustainability, HSBC Bangladesh and Sarwat Reza, Library Manager, British Council Bangladesh was present at the launching ceremony.
