Chapter 2. Progress towards the EFA goals - Unesco

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0 1 2 0 CHAPTER 2 Education for All Global Monitoring Report Large-scale programmes in Brazil, India and the Islamic Republic of Iran are delivering positive results governments recognizing that ‘literacy is crucial to the acquisition, by every child, youth and adult, of essential life skills that enable them to address the challenges they can face in life, and represents an essential step in basic education’ (United Nations, 2002, p. 2). While development decades come and go, usually without meaningful impact, the literacy decade has given rise to intensive regional discussions and raised the profile of the illiteracy problem (Robinson, 2009; UNESCO, 2008b). The International Conference on Adult Education scheduled for late 2009 (CONFINTEA VI) provides an opportunity to move from international dialogue to international action. Literacy continues to receive insufficient attention at many levels. It is not treated as a political priority, it receives insufficient financial commitment and efforts to incorporate strategies for literacy into wider poverty reduction plans remain underdeveloped (Caillods and Hallak, 2004; Giffard-Lindsay, 2008; Lindt, 2008). Even so, some governments have demonstrated through practical action that national programmes deliver results. Others have increased financing commitments for literacy. And a vast array of partnerships and approaches are now promoting literacy at the community level (Oxenham, 2008). Some governments have openly acknowledged that neglect of literacy was a serious policy failure (Lindt, 2008). One of the most far-reaching efforts to correct that failure is the Literate Brazil Programme (Box 2.21). In the Islamic Republic of Iran, community learning centres initiated by the Literacy Movement Organization, a government agency, have enrolled 3.1 million illiterates from 2000 to 2006 in preliminary basic education courses. Around three-quarters of those enrolled successfully complete their courses (Richmond et al., 2008). In Burkina Faso, the government has adopted the bold target of increasing adult literacy rates from 28% to 40% by 2010. That target has been backed by an increase in the share of the education budget allocated to literacy from 1% to 7% – a move that has facilitated the expansion of permanent literacy training centres and centres for non-formal basic education. Graduation from these centres grew by 24% from 2003 to 2007 (Richmond et al., 2008). Another example comes from India, where the National Literacy Mission, launched in 1988, has been revitalized. The eleventh five-year plan, which ends in 2012, has quintupled the mission’s budget to the equivalent of US$21 billion. Programmes have been redesigned to provide an integrated approach that combines initial literacy training with ongoing post-literacy courses. Decentralization is transferring authority to states and districts, and a much stronger commitment has been made to preparing literacy materials in local languages. In 2009, the Government of India also signaled a stronger focus on gender and equity, first by recasting the National Literacy Mission as the National Female Literacy Mission and then by announcing a strategy for targeting. Commitments have been made to ensure that 85% of targeted beneficiaries will be women and that 50% will come from scheduled castes, tribes and minorities, with a focus on Muslims (India Ministry of Human Resource Development, 2009). Slow progress in improving literacy is sometimes cited as evidence that little can be done for older generations. There is extensive evidence, however, of problems with past approaches to raising literacy. For two or three decades after 1960, many governments attempted to combat illiteracy through top-down courses that were ill suited to the lives of the intended beneficiaries, badly designed and offered no follow-up. Dropout rates were high and literacy acquisition limited. The needs of indigenous people and minority language groups were often ignored. Literacy programmes have mirrored schools in denying people an opportunity to learn in their local language, diminishing the perceived value of their culture in the process. Shortcomings persist in national programmes, particularly in targeting. Literacy initiatives often focus on youth and young adults, with insufficient attention paid to older people – especially women – who represent the bulk of the illiterate population. India’s and Brazil’s programmes principally target people under 30 (India Ministry of Human Resource Development and National University of Educational Planning and Administration, 2008). Reaching older illiterates can be difficult, but far more could be done to extend opportunities through livelihood-based literacy programmes. Financing is another area of concern. It is encouraging that more governments are adopting bold targets, but those targets are seldom backed by adequate budget support. It is not uncommon for literacy to account for as little as 1% to 2% of total education spending (Lindt, 2008). 102
PROGRESS TOWARDS THE EFA GOALS Youth and adult literacy Box 2.21: Brazil — ‘making people literate’ Around 14 million Brazilian youth, adults and elderly people lack basic reading and writing skills. The Literate Brazil Programme (Programa Brasil Alfabetizado) initiated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2003 is the first concerted national effort to consign illiteracy to the history books. The programme is coordinated by the Ministry of Education but operates through a highly decentralized structure. It functions in 3,699 municipalities, just over 1,000 of which have been accorded priority status because they have illiteracy rates over 25%. The effort primarily targets disadvantaged groups such as indigenous people, small farmers and farm workers, child labourers (as part of the Programme to Eradicate Child Labour) and people covered under the Bolsa Familia social protection programme. Literate Brazil is open to anyone over 15 with less than a year of education. Thus far it has provided literacy training to about 8 million learners. Literacy classes typically last six to eight months and are attended by groups of eighteen to twenty-five learners. Federal transfers cover the cost of training and providing grants to literacy facilitators, many of whom are teachers. Literacy textbooks are produced in local languages and reflect local circumstances and needs. Innovative pedagogical approaches have been developed. Teaching is organized around the idea of ‘making people literate’ through dynamic learning processes that lead to the acquisition of reading, writing and numeracy skills. Students’ abilities are assessed and recorded by government agencies, and qualifications are provided that can be used to enter formal education. Literate Brazil has been about more than providing services. Political leaders have challenged the culture of silence and indifference surrounding illiteracy. A Ministry of Education programme has put the development of textbooks for literacy, a previously neglected subject, on the same footing as books for primary and secondary school. Prizes are awarded for the development of literacy materials and the best entries are integrated into national programmes, with specific prizes for black Brazilians, an educationally disadvantaged group. Sources: Brazil Ministry of Education (2008); Henriques and Ireland (2007); Ireland (2007, 2008); UIL (2009); UNESCO Brasilia (2009). Many literacy programmes also continue to suffer from low rates of uptake and completion. On the other hand, programmes that provide for active learning through a relevant curriculum and offer follow-up have achieved results. Many such programmes are built on partnerships, extending from local communities to non-government actors and government agencies. One prominent example is Reflect. Developed and coordinated by ActionAid, an international charity, it focuses on the learners’ own literacy objectives, motivation and skills (Riddell, 2001). It not only promotes the use of real texts from the environment but also encourages participants to generate their own texts. It further aims to transform the broader literacy environment, for example by campaigning for newspapers to use local language or texts more accessible to adult literacy learners (Aderinoye and Rogers, 2005). The programme is currently applied in Bangladesh, Pakistan and many other countries (Duffy et al., 2008). Bilingual education is critical to the success of literacy programmes aimed at indigenous people and ethnic minorities. Here, too, many governments have openly acknowledged the mistakes of the past. Several governments in Latin America – including those of Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru – and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean have developed a regional poverty reduction strategy incorporating bilingual literacy training for indigenous groups (Latin American and the Caribbean Demographic Center, 2009; Stockholm Challenge, 2008). Conclusion Much has been achieved through the scaling up of literacy initiatives since 2000. However, the monitoring evidence is unambiguous: the 2015 targets will not be reached on the current trajectory. Far more has to be done to accelerate progress. This will require stronger political leadership. Governments across the world continue to attach too little weight to literacy in national planning. This is short-sighted. Illiteracy imposes huge costs on society and the economy – and investments in literacy have the potential to generate large returns in both areas. The Literate Brazil Programme has provided literacy training to about 8 million learners 103
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