GK NEWS
Bandipora: A two-day book fair organised by International Delhi Public School (IDPS) in the north Kashmir Bandipora district on Thursday was held where speakers urged people and students to read more books in the face of technology progress and excessive Smartphone use.
Deputy Commissioner of Bandipora, Owais Ahmad, who inaugurated the book fair, said that book reading was important for “concise and easy” reading. He said that technological advances and the use of Smartphones for educational purposes had created a “problem of plenty” which has led to “attention and patience issues and incompetence in grasping the details.”
He stated that “it was not a good sign for future generations.” He proposed that reading groups be used to encourage good reading habits. He also mentioned the importance of literature and novel reading habits. The president of private school education, G N Var, emphasized the need of instilling book reading habits since “education is going through a transaction phase.”
He said that to fully implement the New Educational Policy, it was important to keep students connected with the books. Mohammad Amin Beigh, Bandipora’s Chief Education Officer, agreed with Var, saying that technology has “significantly reduced the desire to read books in youth.” “It has also affected creative thinking,” he continued, “which could be revived by book-reading habits.”
Concerned, the speakers at the event noted, “Libraries are deserted, which is not a good sign.” They stated that it was critical to spark pupils’ interest in book reading in order to keep their creativity alive.
The principal of Bandipora Degree College, Masood Ahamd Malik, said that even religion had emphasised the importance of reading and that the Quran’s first revelation was ‘Iqra’ which means to read, and “it started a journey and swept the whole world off its feet”.
