The Standard Group has launched the Newspaper in Education programme at Maandani Secondary School in Kaloleni constituency, Kilifi County, to enable pupils to deepen their reading and comprehension skills.

Under the programme, newspapers and magazines published by the media house will be supplied to the school.

The Standard Group supports the programme in schools in Msambweni in Kwale County, Embu, Nanyuki and Ruaraka in Nairobi.

Launching the programme on Friday, Dorine Mbaya, the head of the marketing department, said Standard Group was committed to supporting education and improving performance.

She said the purpose of the programme was to improve pupils' ability to read and understand using newspapers as a means of filling the gaps left by the traditional textbook teaching method.

She also said introducing newspapers would impart a reading culture as well as expand and sharpen pupils' cognitive and comprehension skills and their knowledge of the world.

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"What Newspaper in Education does is bring the world to the classroom," she said, noting that the method has been tested across the world following its introduction in Scotland 200 years ago.

Ms Mbaya said successful implementation of the programme in others areas supported by The Standard had boosted class attendance, with notable results.

Maandani school principal Getrude Garama said the institution had experienced challenges in English language due to a poor reading culture.

And Management Board chairman Edward Mwachanga said the institution had always recorded disappointing grades in English, with the highest student scoring a C- in the subject.