Campaign against illiteracy

There is consensus in our country on the value of education but we can hardly say that the eradication of inequality in educational opportunities has yet become a dominant objective. And although our national educational policy may have this aim on its agenda, we are far from reaching it.

As a result, the number of illiterate people is still relatively high in spite of efforts in recent years to improve the manner in which people are educated.

It is a fact that after spending about 10 years at school, many young people still have serious problems when it comes to reading and writing and seem to be unable to master either Maltese or English. However, it is not an easy task to ascertain the exact number of young people and adults with reading and writing problems - though statistics indicate that the figure among men has been on the rise since the mid-1980s.

The drawbacks of illiteracy are well known but it is not always clear whether the causes of this unpleasant situation are to be found in our school system or are due to lack of cooperation on the part of the students themselves, or even their parents.

The social problem that arises from having a considerable number of adults who are unable to read and write is not one that can easily be overlooked. Their predicament makes it difficult for the illiterates themselves when they try to find a job and earn a decent living. Indeed, the inability to read or write often gives rise to a deep feeling of inferiority complex.

Illiteracy is also a setback for the whole of society. It is not only a question of prestige but also of prosperity and progress. In reality, people's inability to read and write is hindering our economic advancement. The technological society in which we live is increasingly in need of skilled workers and professionals - and this reality should make us more and more aware of the scale of the problem.

In some cases, the education system is identified as the major factor behind widespread illiteracy. Access to school from early infancy is certainly an educational opportunity. However, the child that does not get a good grounding at kindergarten probably carries this handicap into primary and secondary levels, without ever getting able to get rid of it.

This is why attention and care should be given to all children, without exception, early in life and continue relentlessly through the educational process. It very often happens that if educational disadvantages are not eliminated at an early age, in the slow-learning pupil, it becomes impossible to reverse the cumulative effects later on and remedial measures have little effect.

A well thought-out programme with a far-reaching vision should be adopted in order to ensure students are endowed with basic reading and writing skills by the time they have completed secondary school. Of course, teachers have other hard nuts to crack besides the lessons they give in the classroom: they have to address problems of absenteeism, bullying and the apathy of some children. All these problems should be taken into account when considering plans for school reform and positive results can only be achieved if there is the wholehearted cooperation of both students and parents.

Moreover, the development of personal and social skills may be fostered not only in the classroom but also at home, in clubs, the shop floor and other places. Even NGOs have an important role to play in this field. Therefore, besides improving the systems of schooling, the campaign against illiteracy calls for other programmes to meet the needs of underprivileged adolescents.

One pillar of this programme could be an adult education scheme, endowing an individual with basic literacy and numeric skills as well as paying attention to those with special needs.

Television and computer programmes may be explicitly designed to complement what is taught in school by providing basic skills that can be learnt at home. In the coming generation it is likely that an increasing portion of educational funds will be spent in non-school setting.

A growing public realisation that human development continues beyond adolescence will probably favour the continued expansion of this new sector of the educational market.

Anti- illiteracy campaigns, often run by volunteers, are active in many countries but at times they do not run very smoothly because of insufficient funds. They normally stand a better chance of success when they are conducted by government agencies and appropriate legislation would go some way to improving the quality of education in non-school settings.

We must do our best to ensure that basic education and literacy training is available to those who are most in need of it.