Kuwait eager to cultivate love of reading in students
KUWAIT: Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Dr Mohammad Abdulatif AlFares yesterday stressed keenness on cultivating the love of reading in students. Addressing the concluding ceremony of the Arab Reading Challenge (ARC) 2016-2017 held at the theater of the Kuwait National Library, the minister added that the competition helps instill the eagerness to read in students.
Such events contribute to the building and refining of a student’s character for achieving the aspired goals, in the Arab World and in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in particular, Fares told the ceremony. He expressed pleasure for honoring the 10 top students of the competition in Kuwait, hoping this will motivate others to read. During the ceremony, the minister honored Taima Abdullah Al-Omari, the Kuwait ARC champion who is in the 11th grade at Al-Ratqa High School, and Dr Mubarak Raja Al-Otaibi, the winner of the distinguished supervisor award for the state.
The minister also honored all ten student finalists, Ayram Ahmed Al-Otaibi (5th grade at Al-Sabika School), Rahma Mohammed Ahmed (8th grade at Um Saad School), Asma Amer AlShammari (12th grade at Fatima bint Atba School), Asma Ibrahim (8th grade at Um Saad School), Nour Imad Hassan (7th grade at Ekhlas School), Bashid Falah Al-Mutairi (12th grade at Fatima bint Atba School), Rania Sabri Shaaban (12th grade at Hawa bint Yazid School), Yasmine Awad Al-Fikr (11th grade at Nuria Sabeeh School), and Sultan Majid Al-Tooq (12th grade at Jassem Al-Kharafi School).
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education’s Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Development and head of the team in charge of the project in Kuwait Faisal Al-Maqseed, said that in its second year, the competition has come to be a landmark part of school activities.
This year, 371 schools took part in the competition, 160 more than last year. Up to 60,000 students competed, a rise of 40 percent compared to the last competition. The Arab Reading Challenge project was launched by UAE’s Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum to encourage reading among students in the Arab world.