BY SALAWU, B.A.
The yearly World Read Aloud Day celebrated every first Wednesday of February has come and gone. The day is dedicated to promotion of reading, literacy and lifelong learning. The 2026 edition with the theme: Celebrating Learning took place on Wednesday 4th February, 2026. The 2026 event was intended to achieve global literacy, shared reading experiences, community engagement with greater focus on children and young learners. It was also to serve as effective tool for advancing social change and supporting psychological well-being.
As usual, teachers engaged pupils in reading aloud from story books while parents/guardians engaged their children/wards at home, library held reading sessions, and community engagement where people from either physical or virtual community gather together to engage in storytelling to foster interactively, social cohesion and sense of belonging as it enables people to stay connected with friends and family members and relations. The occasion was equally marked with reading and quiz competitions, debate, and lectures.
RATIONALE FOR READING ALOUD
One question I have been confronted with during the course of discharging my duty especially as Head of Branch while conducting outreach programmes is why emphasis on reading and less on writing and numeracy which are key components of education and learning ? The reasons are not far-fetched.
ACADEMIC VALUE
The importance of reading in education cannot be overemphasized. Reading is the foundation of all learning. It is the veritable instrument for acquisition of knowledge which is then shared orally and in writing through seminars, workshops, lectures, dialogue etc. Hence its description as the first button on the garment of education. Writing on the other hand is a corollary of reading, though more challenging. Reading impacts on writing with acquisition of vocabulary, sentence structure, tenses, figurative expression. Reading enhances writing skill and like two sides of a coin, the two essential skills results in the book. No wonder both reading and writing constitute literacy. Reading is the foundation of all learning
READING/NUMERACY
Although the broader concept of literacy in the 21st century includes the ability to understand, interpret and use both text and numerical information, literacy and numerals are considered parallel interconnected foundation skills rather than one being a subset of the other. In other words, they are related but not identical. Nonetheless, research shows that strong reading skill enhances understanding of mathematical concept and interpretation of data while numeracy skills improve the ability to analyze information presented in the text. Again good reading skill paves way for children to develop their math skill and that this finding underscores the importance of considering reading performance in treating math difficulties. Furthermore, reading is critical in solving word mathematical problem as students must first of all understand the narrative context, vocabulary and instruction before applying numerical operations. In health and financial context, literacy often encompassed ability to manage mathematical demands such as reading graphs, understanding percentage and medical prescription.
The foregoing shows why reading has gained pre-eminence over other learning activities.
PRE-NATAL VALUE
Reading also has prenatal impact for expectant and nursing mothers. Reading during pregnancy and at child birth aids the development of child’s brain as observed by a psychologist. Therefore expectant and nursing mothers are enjoined to read books in the normal tone to the unborn child preferable fictional, non-fictional story books and poems to the foetus or the child in the womb around the second trimester-twenty weeks of the pregnancy as this helps in bonding and language development. It has a soothing effect that enables the baby to recognize the voices of the parents and baby’s entire future family. Benefits include relaxation, stress reduction, interaction with the baby and enhanced brain development.
RECREATIONAL/THERAPEUTIC VALUE
Reading of books for academic and pleasure is highly beneficial because of its recreational and therapeutic values. It serves as a means of bibliotherapy which uses reading as a weapon to foster wellbeing, emotional well being. In bibliotherapic treatment, specific books are recommended (Fiction and non-fiction) to enable clients overcome depression, anxiety and psychological trauma. Bibliotherapy has six functions: to show that others have experienced the same problems, the patients are not the first to experience it, to show the reader new solution to the problem, to help the reader understand motivation people with similar problem faced, to provide facts, and to encourage a realistic approach. Reading is indeed a therapeutic elixir for people of all ages
FOUNDATION SKILL FOR OTHER LITERACIES
Reading aloud is to solidify literacy development - basic/functional literacy of which reading is the key component. It serves as a requisite skill for other literacies i.e. digital literacy, information literacy, media literacy as well as numeracy which in modern times forms an integral part of broader literacy development. Basic literacy is simply the ability to read and write, while functional literacy is ability to use the literacy to earn the means of livelihood and function very well in a community. However as already stated, literacy in the 21st century encompassed numeracy which is the ability to use numbers effectively, As defined by a scholar, Literacy is a continuum of learning and proficiency in reading, writing and number… as part of a larger set of skills such as information literacy, digital skill, media skill etc. Nevertheless, the basic literacy skill, that is, reading and writing serves as a pre-requisite skill for other literacies.
Since reading aloud is a technique of acquiring mastery and dexterity in reading, the skill must be imparted to children during their formative years to enhance their cognitive development
Having dwelt at length on the importance of reading and the utmost prominence accorded it in learning activities, it is pertinent to bring to the fore other important issues inherent in the global event global celebration
COMPREHENSION
Comprehension is at the centre of reading. Reading aloud is not just for mere reading sake but reading for comprehension with resultant impact on individual and the society at large, Teachers are not only to engage the students in skillful Reading Aloud but also teach them the technique of comprehension in reading. A lot of students fail public examinations due to lack of comprehension skill. Therefore, reading aloud calls for summary and explanation by the teachers. Pupils/students can equally be asked to summarize a comprehension passage. Students at the end of reading needs to understand moral lessons, themes, proverbs, figurative expressions in the text. Also there must be questions to be answered. Without comprehension, reading cannot foster desired literacy and functional education..
This leads to the concept of literary appreciation skill aimed to foster enhanced understanding of a storybook or comprehension passage which makes it enjoyable and impactful on the youths and young learners many of whom might grow up to become literary giants. Literary appreciation is the ability to comment and understand diction and style of a story book both fiction, non- fiction and poetry or any piece of write up. This includes identification of the themes, proverbs, figurative expressions and their effectiveness in the reading exercise Young learners need to have idea of literary appreciation.
MASS LITERACY
The World Read Aloud Day is aimed at achieving mass/global literacy with its inherent benefits of enlightenment, critical thinking, creativity and numeracy. Although the focus is more on the children, adult and elderly ones are not left out. It is a common knowledge that an enlightened citizenry is a great asset to a nation as they are free from ignorance and can make meaningful contributions to national development. That is why the Reading Aloud concept applies to both the young and old. Teachers and Librarians who are to engage the students must themselves be knowledgeable and continually update their knowledge since one cannot give what he or she does not have.
Likewise, parents are expected to engage their children as well as community engagement physically and virtually. It is obvious that parents or members of community who are illiterate cannot play this role. Parents and members of community needs to motivate their children through self-reading as many children like to follow the footsteps of their parents. They need to ensure that they read at home and they should equally guide them in their school assignments.
Nigerian adult literacy (age 15 and above is approximately 70% - 77% as of 2024) showing some progress but with significant regional and gender disparities, and about 30% of the population roughly 6o million adults still struggling with basic reading and writing skills, while millions of children still remain outside classroom. Despite improvement, the adult literacy level is still high.
ROLE OF PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Closely linked to the above is that parents and community members must not see the education of their children as the sole responsibility of the teachers. Their role goes beyond payment of school fees. They need to compliment teachers’ efforts. They can equally organize private lessons for their children and keep a library of books or encourage them to make use of library either public or national library apart from the school library. They should participate actively in the Parent – Teachers Association meetings in order to make meaningful contributions and have first hand information about the progress of the respective schools and their children.
Regrettably, some parents in Nigeria apart scholars and teachers cannot fulfill this role because of the large illiteracy population. Besides some of them are too engrossed in businesses and worldly affairs and hardly have time for their children education. Efforts must be intensified on adult literacy programmes with establishment of many more centres across the federation and adequate publicity for more awareness. In this wise, federal government effort is being complimented by National Library of Nigeria with the establishment of literacy centres in hard- to-reach communities across the nation during Readership Promotion Campaigns for those without informal education. For effective take off, National Library of Nigeria provides reading and writing materials. This centres, however, requires adequate funding for greater impact.
LIBRARY
Library is the heart of all academic endeavors. Library and education are like Siamese twins that must not be separated. The goal of the library is to promote functional education and lifelong learning. This explains why library featured prominently in the global event. It is to drive home the key role of library in life long learning. Of particular concern is the primary school which is the lowest rung of ladder of education system, yet very important as it serves as foundation for formal education in Nigeria as recognized by National Policy on Education (NPE, 2002). It therefore deserves utmost attention. One area of neglect of primary school and to some extent is secondary school.
Every primary school needs to have good library/ mini library manned by a professional with library hours during which pupils can visit the library for orientation and reading. A section of the library should be devoted to instructional learning with relevant equipment such as film strips, projectors audio-video recording poster. etc.
PROMOTION OF MULTILINGUALISM IN EDUCATION
It should be noted that the focus of Reading Aloud is not limited to books written in either official language or lingua franca of a society or nation. It applies to indigenous languages as well. In Nigeria the focus is not only on textbooks on English language but also indigenous languages. This is in tandem with the concept of multilingualism in education which emphasizes the use of general and an indigenous language as medium of instruction in elementary schools but with greater emphasis on the latter towards achieving global peace and understanding based on the conviction that pupils at the elementary stage performs better when they are taught in their mothers’ tongues
ROLE OF NATIONAL LIBRARY OF NIGERIA(NLN)
National Library of Nigeria has been in the vanguard of celebrating notable global events in grand style with various activities. Members of staff led by the able and indefatigable National Librarian marked the 2026 World Read Aloud Day at the Corporate Headquarters with members of staff. Selected staff members from all the departments of the institution read stories from books in indigenous languages and explaining in English.
It was a highly interactive and entertaining occasion. At the state level, all branches of NLN celebrated the event in various ways i.e. reading aloud, quiz competitions etc. This global and other outreach programmes has stimulated reading interests in students.
CONCLUSION
The writer in its article titled “Celebration of the World Read Aloud Day Application and Impact in 2025 noted that the celebration had been low keyed over the years. Not many organizations, schools and academic institutions are involved in the celebration whereas it ought to be given prominence. It is indeed an occasion to organize reading and essay writing competitions, and other literary activities that will stimulate learning at the national , state and local government levels.