4 Aug 2008

PNG politicians to face call for more support for literacy during Book Week

7:13 pm on 4 August 2008

Across Papua New Guinea school students have been marking the beginning National Book Week with parades promoting this year's theme, Read HIV/AIDS Live Longer.

Our correspondent Oseah Philemon is in Wabag in Enga Province where he says thousands of school pupils, some in traditional dress, have marched through the town.

He says few PNG schools have libraries and one of the aims of Book Week is to make political leaders aware of the need to provide this sector of education with more funding.

"So that children have all these resources available. We have to beat illiteracy. It is a big problem in Papua New Guinea and the only way to do it, we must invest in books for children, we must invest in libraries for them, because for a very long time Papua New Guinea leaders and policy decision makers have simply not given this matter any priority at all."

Oseah Philemon