For the third time, pupils from Cours Moyen deuxième année des Savanes competed in reading and general knowledge. Of the eighteen (18) finalists, three (3) students stood out. Action Education, whose slogan is "It all starts with education", supported this initiative with incentive prizes.
Eighteen (18) pupils from the Cours Moyen deuxième année (CM2) class in the Savanes region, including thirteen (13) girls, have received school kits thanks to Action Education. Each kit consists of a pack of 100-page exercise books, a pack of 200-page exercise books, four pens (two red and two blue), a khaki cloth, a novel and a sixth-grade reading book. In addition to the school supplies, the winners received the sum of fifteen thousand (15,000) CFA francs and a bicycle for the first prizewinner, ten thousand (10,000) CFA francs for the second and third prizewinners and five thousand (5,000) CFA francs for each of the other fifteen.
These prizes are awarded to the best candidates in the final of the third edition of the Savanes regional competition for the best reader. The reading competition is an initiative of the regional departments of education and arts and culture in Togo's Savanes region, in recognition of the fact that one of the main reasons why pupils fail is because they have difficulty reading. The aim is to encourage primary school pupils to want to read and learn. This initiative has the support of partners working in the fields of education and culture. For the third edition, the organising committee asked Action Education for support, which responded favourably by paying for the school kits and financial support for the candidates.
The competition began with eliminatory stages by school and by educational sector before the inspection levels, which identified the eighteen (18) candidates for the final phase.
The final took place on 10 July 2024 in the meeting room of the Tône prefecture in the presence of the administrative and educational authorities of the Savanes region, including the prefect of Tône, the mayors, the regional director of education and the regional director of arts and culture, as well as partners.
The competition itself was based on the reading of a text, with four assessment criteria: syllabification, word articulation, expressiveness and punctuation. In addition to these four criteria, each candidate had to answer two questions.
After more than three hours of all the candidates passing through, the jury deliberated. First place went to a pupil from Le Major public school in the Oti Nord inspection, with an average of 18/20, followed by a candidate from La Semence public school in Tône Ouest, with an average of 17.5/20. Third place went to the candidate from Tantigou Peulh public primary school in Oti Ouest with 17/20.
It's a salutary initiative that is a source of motivation for pupils, and we hope that it will be extended to other regions of Togo.
