Concerned about reading apathy among pupils, a teacher in Hammanskraal, outside Pretoria, has published a book in a bid to turn the tide.
Elias Kekana, 54, an English teacher at Steve Bikoville Secondary School, hopes his compact, easy-to-read book titled The Road Taken will attract pupils to reading.
The Road Taken is an easy read, with short chapters. This was intentional, Kekana quipped. "Most of the learners, not all them, are not bookworms. Their concentration span is very short.
"I felt let me write an absorbing book that can be read in a short space of time. The reader can go through it several times because it is short," he said.
Nonfiction, the book is Kekana's personal story. It is a story of making it in life from absolute rags.
The storyline aims to inspire pupils in the country, a significant portion of whom are from poor families, that they can rise above their circumstances.
"I'm trying to say there's light at the end of the tunnel. They don't have to despair given their backgrounds. We can get out of poverty by reading a lot," said Kekana.
His story begins at Bala primary, which was a multi-grade farm school with only two teachers in Settlers, Limpopo. In his first year of schooling in 1970, Kekana walked barefoot to the school 30km away from home.
"As the farm school was too far, it was agreed MaEli [his nickname] should stay home while his elder sister continued to attend," he writes in chapter three of the book.
He returned to school in 1973 when his family moved to Stinkwater, a village near Hammanskraal.
After completing matric in 1985, Kekana did odd jobs for four years while raising funds to pursue further education.
Referring to when he finally enrolled at the Moretele College of Education in Makapanstad, North West, he writes: "There is light at the end of the tunnel."
He has since obtained an advanced education management certificate from the Tshwane University of Technology and a bachelor of education honours degree at the University of Pretoria.
He lamented that many people were reluctant to read books.
"The likes of Thabo Mbeki, Barack Obama, all these successful leaders in the world have gone through books. If you say 'I want to see myself as a doctor, a psychologist', you must read a lot."
But, "our kids today do not take reading as seriously as we used to", Kekana said.
"You go to community libraries, you won't find them inside. Instead, you find them outside. They are interested in WiFi and chatting."
Storyline to inspire reluctant readers
Concerned about reading apathy among pupils, a teacher in Hammanskraal, outside Pretoria, has published a book in a bid to turn the tide.
Elias Kekana, 54, an English teacher at Steve Bikoville Secondary School, hopes his compact, easy-to-read book titled The Road Taken will attract pupils to reading.
The Road Taken is an easy read, with short chapters. This was intentional, Kekana quipped. "Most of the learners, not all them, are not bookworms. Their concentration span is very short.
"I felt let me write an absorbing book that can be read in a short space of time. The reader can go through it several times because it is short," he said.
Nonfiction, the book is Kekana's personal story. It is a story of making it in life from absolute rags.
The storyline aims to inspire pupils in the country, a significant portion of whom are from poor families, that they can rise above their circumstances.
"I'm trying to say there's light at the end of the tunnel. They don't have to despair given their backgrounds. We can get out of poverty by reading a lot," said Kekana.
His story begins at Bala primary, which was a multi-grade farm school with only two teachers in Settlers, Limpopo. In his first year of schooling in 1970, Kekana walked barefoot to the school 30km away from home.
"As the farm school was too far, it was agreed MaEli [his nickname] should stay home while his elder sister continued to attend," he writes in chapter three of the book.
He returned to school in 1973 when his family moved to Stinkwater, a village near Hammanskraal.
After completing matric in 1985, Kekana did odd jobs for four years while raising funds to pursue further education.
Referring to when he finally enrolled at the Moretele College of Education in Makapanstad, North West, he writes: "There is light at the end of the tunnel."
He has since obtained an advanced education management certificate from the Tshwane University of Technology and a bachelor of education honours degree at the University of Pretoria.
He lamented that many people were reluctant to read books.
"The likes of Thabo Mbeki, Barack Obama, all these successful leaders in the world have gone through books. If you say 'I want to see myself as a doctor, a psychologist', you must read a lot."
But, "our kids today do not take reading as seriously as we used to", Kekana said.
"You go to community libraries, you won't find them inside. Instead, you find them outside. They are interested in WiFi and chatting."
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