50 MILLION NIGERIAN ADULTS ARE ILLITERATE, SAYS COMMISSION
Nigeria has about 50
million number of non-literate adults in the country, Executive Secretary,
National Commission for Mass Literacy (NMEC), Abba Haladu, has said.
Prof. Haladu gave the
figure on Tuesday in Abuja to mark the 50th International Literacy Day with the
theme: “Reading the Past, Writing the Future.”
He said Nigeria was
unfortunately experiencing increased numbers of non-literate adults while other
countries continue to record progress.
He said the high rate
of illiteracy in the country had become a challenge to achieving national sustainable
development.
Prof. Haladu said:
“Tremendous progress has been made in the fight against illiteracy in the last
five decades, yet the world is still home to at least 758 million illiterate
adults, and about two thirds of them are women.
“In Nigeria in
particular, the illiteracy situation is still troubling. With an estimated
figure of over 50 million adult illiterates and 11.5 million out of school
children, the problem of illiteracy remains one of Nigeria’s greatest obstacles
to development.
“In fact, UNESCO
2016, contends that as other regions of the world are recording progress in the
fight against illiteracy, Sub-Saharan Africa, in which Nigeria has the highest
number of population, is unfortunately experiencing rising absolute numbers of
non-literate adults.”
Haladu, who called on
the Federal government to upturn the unwholesome illiteracy statistics, also
urged state and local governments, non governmental organisations and the
organised private sector, to ensure the necessary material support needed to
eradicate illiteracy were adequately provided.
In his address,
Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, reiterated Nigeria’s commitment towards
addressing the challenges of adult literacy by providing quality education for
all through the implementation of effective policies.
Represented by the
Director, Basic and Secondary Education, Mrs. Ann Okonkwo, the minister said
adult illiteracy would affect the status of women, fertility, children’s
development, economic productivity and political processes.
He said: “Efforts
would be made to strengthen equity and access, equality, funding, teacher
quality, effective curriculum implementation, human resource development and
provision of infrastructure, to equip young people and adult learners with the
right knowledge and skills for global citizenship.”
Adamu called on
stakeholders to rededicate themselves and come up with new mode of operations,
innovative initiatives in content and pedagogical methods, to provide
sufficient and appropriate learning options for youth and adults who did not
enrol in school or dropped out from school. READ MORE
Comments