This government-aided school headmaster in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, believes that reading books can bring about a sea change among students and has been trying his best to make reading a habit among students to improve their lifestyles.
With his encouragement, around 100 students from the school enrolled themselves as members of the public library in K Pudur recently.
Headmaster (HM) of Al-Ameen Boys Higher Secondary School (government-aided), S Sheik Nabi, has been involving students in various activities to make them read. He has created a WhatsApp group and has been conducting competitions on storytelling and other activities to make students confident.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Sheikh has been taking the initiative to develop a 'Reading Movement' for the students.
Speaking to TNIE, Sheik Nabi said that his school was a Muslim minority school and the students studying there are from the economically weaker sections. "Though the school has a library, it has limited scope for enriching the reading habits of the students. We had sent a letter to Chief Minister MK Stalin to strengthen our school library and he immediately responded on behalf of Arivalayam (a name for the ruling DMK party in TN). They sent 200 books including Thanthai Periyar books, Arignar anna, Kalaignar, motivational, social, Tamil literature, biography, English books, during the month of October," he pointed out.
Nabi further said inculcating reading habits among the students is the way to ensure discipline as it indirectly improves students' literacy, vocabulary, general knowledge and focus on their studies.
"We encourage students to read the daily news during the assembly prayer. The WhatsApp group, ACT WIN, is updated with all types of news like science and technology, achievements of students, current affairs and thoughts for the day. Initially, the teachers and I used to share things between us, but now, students have started showing interest in learning new things every day,” he added.
When contacted, M Usen Abubakkar Siddiq, a Class XII student, said that they have library hours twice a week which has allowed him to read a variety of books for the past two years. "Wherever a book exhibition is held, our HM brings it to our notice and encourages us to visit the exhibition. It is always amazing to view numerous books under an umbrella. I am interested in reading literature and at present, I am reading Bharathiyar's poems. It gives me a lot of courage and confidence to encounter challenges. Books are a loyal friend of mine,” he added.
Another student B Mohamed Aasim from Class XI said that reading has improved his mental health as well as physical health. "During the COVID-19 period, I played mobile games. Once the school reopened, teachers and HM insisted we read books to get rid of our mobile phones. It was very difficult for me to read books during the initial stages, but later, I started enjoying them as they brought me peace of mind,” shared the youngster.
He added, “I came to know that great leaders also have the habit of reading and it triggered me to read more. Recently, I read former President Abdul Kalam's Akkini Siragugal which emphasised the importance of hard work and commitment.”
