St Kitts and Nevis win Courts reading Competition

Hrishikesh Srinivasan of St Kitts and Nevis won the seventh annual Courts, OECS Reading Competition held at the Arawak House of Culture here on March 3.

He received $5000 and for his school, a laptop and a smartphone from Digicel.

Hrishikesh told reporters that he felt "excited and happy" after he won the competition.

He said that he likes reading because it takes him into a world of imagination where anything can happen.

First runner up was Shekinah Campbell of St Vincent and the Grenadines and second runner up was Jazz Dias of Antigua and Barbuda.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education Petter Saint Jean told the organisers: "You have recognized the important role that reading play in an individual's personal development…I believe that it is also a testament of the important role that the corporate community can play in national development."

He said the competition will serve as an avenue for children to improve their reading skills and thereby obtaining a head start towards a solid education.

"Literacy skills is fundamental in functioning in today's society…I urge you therefore to take full advantage of the opportunities that you have been afforded to improve your reading skills," he said.

St Jean said the Ministry of Education is working to reduce the number of students who do not have the requisite reading skills.

"While we continue to make gains in literacy development we are still very concerned with the disparities we have noticed in the grade 2 and 4 level as well as the gender gap that is evident among our students," said Saint Jean.