Small blessings

Even with all the wrongs in the Malaysian education system, we have done some things right, keeping our literacy rates high  for one (88.7% according to the UNDP 2007/2008 report). Thailand's The Nation has an excellent opinion piece on International Literacy Day. I've included the full article here for easy reading:

Celebrating International Literacy Day: Need for new commitments in the Asia-Pacific region

Published on September 8, 2009

Literacy is a basic human right, guaranteed under the right to education enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it will be celebrated this year across the world today.

Literacy strengthens the capabilities of individuals, families and communities to develop and to achieve. A lack of literacy is strongly correlated with poverty, and those who can use literacy skills to defend their legal rights have a marked advantage over those who cannot.

Literacy thus paves the way for social and gender equity as well as broader societal development. Women who have benefited from literacy programmes have noted the sense of empowerment, economic independence, and social emancipation they have gained through these programmes. Literate mothers are more likely to send their children to school. Promoting literacy among adults thus supports the creation of literate societies and increases the extent to which people play an active role in their personal development and the development of their communities.

According to the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2009, there are 776 million illiterate adults in the world and two-thirds are women. Similarly, there are 75 million school-aged children who are out-of-school globally.

The Asia-Pacific region has relatively high rates of illiteracy overall, accounting for 70 per cent of the world's population, but there are key differences among the various sub-regions, as well as at the national and local levels.

Illiteracy rates are highest in the countries with the greatest poverty. Moreover, in countries with comparatively low literacy rates, rural-urban disparities are also large. South Asia and West Asia also face significant gender imbalances in literacy.

East Asia has a relatively high adult literacy rate (93 per cent), up from 82 per cent in the 1985-1994 to 2000-2006 periods. The dramatic increase in literacy in East Asia between these decades is largely attributable to China, where efforts to increase primary school participation and targeted adult literacy programmes enabled 110 million people to gain literacy.

Despite these achievements, 112 million adults in the region (71 per cent of whom are women) still lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. Countries such as Laos and Cambodia, for example, still face significant challenges in terms of overall literacy. Central Asia has the highest adult literacy rate (99 per cent) in the whole region.

In the Pacific region, nearly 1.7 million adults still lack basic literacy skills, with the majority in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. Moreover, significant gender disparities were noted in Papua New Guinea, where only 80 adult women are literate for every 100 adult men.

In South, and West Asia, 64 per cent of the adult population can read and write with understanding. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, levels are around 50 per cent. The regional literacy rate has increased substantially since 1990, when it stood at 47 per cent, but the rates for this region are still among the lowest in the world.

There are also substantial differences between rural and urban literacy rates in the region. In Pakistan, for example, the rural literacy rate is 44 per cent, compared with 72 per cent for urban areas. Literacy rates are particularly low in remote rural regions, including areas inhabited by ethnic minority populations.

To overcome the situation, countries in the region have developed programmes and activities in literacy and continuing education. Basic literacy, post literacy and some forms of continuing education, including income-generating activities have been developed.

Community Learning Centres (CLC) as multi-purpose learning centres have been established and promoted in most countries. The CLCs are able to generate community participation and link literacy and continuing education programmes directly to people's lifestyles, which helps to motivate learners and community people to join in learning activities.

Over the past fifty years, there has been an evolution in the understanding of literacy from a conventional view (skill acquisition), to a functional view, to a broader vision of literacy that encompasses human rights, democracy, and social development. Along with this expanded vision has come an awareness that we can no longer speak of "literates" and "illiterates", but must view literacy as a continuum and speak of "levels of literacy".

In viewing the changing context of globalisation, new skills and knowledge should be provided to citizens to make them better equipped to meet global needs, and contribute to national development and promote peace and cultural harmonisation.

Thailand is one of the countries with satisfactory success in reducing illiteracy. Between 2000 and 2005, the literacy rate increased for all regions of the country. The overall rate of literacy (15 years and over) increased from 92.6 per cent in 2000 to 93.5 per cent in 2005. This was possible because of strong dedication and strong policies and programmes at the centre, as well as at the grassroots level.

This year, International Literacy Day puts the spotlight on the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and development. "Literacy and Empowerment" is also the theme for the 2009-2010 biennium of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012).

Most countries celebrating this year's International Literacy Day have made a commitment to repeat their commitments to eradicating illiteracy. Reinforcing transparent governance and efficient management of capacity building is one of the most prominent actions to support literacy efforts.

Assessment, monitoring, and evaluation need further development to inform planning and account for results. Given the complex and diverse links of literacy with other sectors, governments should facilitate inter-ministerial collaboration, as well as collaboration with, and within civil society to ensure complementary - not duplicative - actions.

The mid-decade progress report on UNLD in Asia and the Pacific region pointed out that there is still a lack of political will in the eradication of illiteracy in many countries, so problems of poverty, gender inequality and discrimination persist.

Education sector policies should systematically include the needs of adult and youth literacy based on the right to literacy both as a basic learning tool and as a means of personal development. The report further emphasised the need to develop the capacity of government agencies, civil society and community-based learning centres to reach groups with special needs, and in less accessible areas to literacy programmes.

In response to all these needs in literacy, Unesco Bangkok has been promoting education for all; United Nations Literacy Decades (UNLD) (2003-2012) and Decades for Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) (2005-2014) in Asia and the Pacific region. Literacy is one of the primary focuses of Unesco and also the heart of the Education for ALL (EFA) goals and UNLD and DESD. It is also supporting regional and country efforts within the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) under the framework of EFA and UNLD. (LIFE aims to increase literacy learning opportunities in 35 countries with a literacy rate of less than 50 percent, or more than 10 million adult illiterates).

Gwang-Jo Kim is director of the Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific.