18 pc boys perceive reading as 'female pastime'

London, July 2 (ANI): Boys are falling further behind in reading because of a lack of male primary school teachers and the macho belief that it is just 'for girls', a new report has revealed.

According to The 2012 Boys' Reading Commission report, around one in five boys think that someone who reads is boring and 'geeky' because the pursuit is a 'feminine pastime'.

The report has warned that this 'gender gap' is widening and the Government should recruit male volunteers to pay weekly visits to schools to act as reading role models, the Daily Mail reported.

Around 60,000 boys failed to reach the expected level in reading at age 11 last year. At the age of 16, 14 per cent more girls than boys achieved A* to C in English GCSE.

The commission is a joint venture set up by the All-Party Parliamentary Literacy Group and the National Literacy Trust, which surveyed 226 primary and secondary schools and 21,000 children, aged eight to 16.

It revealed that boys were more likely than girls to believe that someone who reads is boring (18 per cent to 12.7 per cent) and a geek (22.3 per cent to 18.5 per cent).

Boys were also more likely than girls to say they preferred watching TV to reading (62 per cent to 45 per cent).

Eighteen per cent of boys believed that reading was 'more for girls' and almost one in three could not find books to interest them.

The commission's report said that 85 to 90 per cent of teachers in primary schools are women which 'could be significant for boys' achievement.

"Boys' under-achievement in reading is not inevitable. Unless we address it, too many boys will struggle at school and face inequalities throughout life," said Jonathan Douglas, of the National Literacy Trust.

Schools minister Nick Gibb added: "Reading for pleasure is key to boosting a young person's life chances. Helping children to develop a love of reading and a habit of reading for pleasure every day is key to ensuring we have well educated and literate young people by the time they leave school." (ANI)