Luanda – At least 2.6 million adults have become literate in the last five years all over the country, with the aim to qualify the labour force for better contribution to the country’s economic growth, the national director of Youth and Adult Education, Evaristo Pedro, told ANGOP Thursday.
Evaristo Pedro, who disclosed the data in the ambit of the International Literacy Day, to be celebrated on September 8, said the training programme is divided in three modules that go from first grade to the the three first years of secondary education (7th, 8th and 9th grades).
He added that 70 per cent of the newly trained are female and that the Angolan state has made it compulsory for every citizen to complete 9th grade, in accordance with Basic Law 17/16 on the Education and Teaching System.
Pedro said the government continues to see literacy as a key factor in its strategy to combat poverty, diversify the economy and promote sustainable development.
Asked about the literacy rate in Angola, the director said that the 2014 Census showed that more than thirteen million Angolans are young people aged 15 or over and of this number it was found that around 76 per cent are literate, with a greater incidence in urban areas.
Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) estimates that 24 per cent of this age group can neither read nor write.
Evaristo Pedro explained that the INE data estimates that the Angolan population for 2023 is roughly 35 million inhabitants being 18.9 million aged 15, which means that one in four young people can neither read nor write, or around 4.5 million.
He admitted that illiteracy is still a reality in many families, and not just because of cultural issues, but also because of the economic situation, early pregnancy, climate change, transhumance and, above all, the poor coverage of the school network.
However, he said, due to the very social dynamics of the present day, there is a social pressure that pushes citizens to look for educational spaces where they can acquire or improve their knowledge, which leads one to believe that the real problem has been the insufficient supply of spaces for literacy.
Strategies for eradicating illiteracy
Pedro spoke of the implementation of the Girls' Empowerment and Learning for All - PAT II projects, with the aim to achieve literacy from literacy to II Cycle of Adult Secondary Education for around 250,000 individuals aged 15 and over, with a greater emphasis on girls in rural areas.
He also pointed to the plans for Literacy Intensification and Youth and Adult Education (EJA) 2019-2022.
As part of the Girl Empowerment and Learning for All Project (PAT II), he said that 600 new literacy classrooms would start up in 2023 in six of the country's provinces, thanks to funding from the World Bank.
According to the national director of Youth and Adult Education, Evaristo Pedro, the programme has benefited 18,000 citizens.
At the moment, he said, the country only has volunteer literacy teachers, a factor that compromises the achievement of the targets due to the constant abandonment of the teachers and consequently, the demoralisation of the students.
About the date
International Literacy Day, 8 September, was established in 1966 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to demonstrate the importance of literacy in the development of individuals and societies.
The year 2023 marks the halfway point for the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to which the international community and Angola in particular committed themselves eight years ago.
The motto, "Promoting Literacy is Building Sustainable, Inclusive and Peaceful Communities", is related to the global concern and not only to the creation of a future world that is more peaceful, inclusive and free from poverty, hunger and inequalities.
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