Piqued by decay and
dearth of reading culture among members of the society especially students, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), has initiated some measures that would salvage the scourge and resuscitate the reading interest among students in various institution of learning in Rivers State.
To this end, the bank has donated over one hundred and forty copies (140) of Things Fall Apart written by Chinue Achebe to  Brain Field Secondary School, Elibolo in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
Presenting the book at a brief ceremony held at the school’s conference hall,  last Friday, the Regional Bank Head, Port Harcourt II region UBA, Mr Chuks Ezike said the programme is tagged “2013 Read Africa Initiative” mid-wifed by the UBA Foundation to intervene in the declining reading interest in the society especially among students in secondary schools in the country.
Mr Ezike stated that the orgnaisation is concerned about the situation, hence embarked on the rescue mission among some selected schools across the country including the state adding that quality of graduates being turn out from many higher institution was alarming.
According to him, the bank came out with the programme as to call attention on the importance of education and reading adding that it is the organisations corporate responsibility to contribute in ensuring that students studying in various schools cultivate the habit of reading their books always.
“The bank is concerned about the decline of Education Standard in our country, it is very worrisome, we see students who cannot speak and write simple correct English Language after graduating from University”, he declared.
The bank regional Head opined that if those in secondary and primary schools could be captured in this effort, the system, he said would be more better and urged the students of the school to focus more on their future rather than engaging themselves in frivolities and abnormal things.
Also speaking, the bank mentor, Dr Basil Price advised the students to imbibe the culture of reading and grab more information at their disposal and dream big always adding that their future  depends on how they the students develop themselves through reading and understanding .
Dr Basil, who is an educationist defined dream as the conceptualisation of ideas adding that nobody can stop their destiny in society if they all  read very well  even as he lauded the bank for taken the bold step to re-direct the consciousness of people toward reading.
In his own speech, the principal of the school, Mr Toby-Hart Nwokocha thanked the bank for choosen the school to be among the benefiting schools in the project and described the moved by the bank as timely intervention restoring the reading culture in the society.
He assured that the school would make effective use of the books in other to release the purpose of the project and urged the students to decide what they want to be in future through their studentship.