Problem Statement
"In today’s world, some 774 million adults lack minimum literacy
skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them
are women; 72.1 million children are out of school and many more attend
irregularly or drop out; and literate environments with access to
reading material and suitable publications are lacking, with the result
that neo-literates cannot sustain their skills." - Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, September 2007
This recent statement alerts us of two enormous problems: the
inadequate options available today for literacy learning, and the
unconscionably large number of people with extremely limited access to
information.
Inadequate Options for Literacy Learning
The strategy for
addressing child and adult literacy education is clearly inadequate.
Children who are not able to regularly attend school have no other
avenue for literacy learning, which is an essential foundation for any
later education they obtain. Those who do attend school are often faced
with untrained teachers and few literacy materials. Simply having a
book read to a child at home can be very beneficial, but this is not an
option for children of illiterate parents.
Adult literacy
programs have been significantly neglected, as most global education
funding has focused on improving primary schools. While most developing
countries have numerous examples of volunteers teaching adult literacy
to other community members, the lack of available literacy materials
limits the potential of these efforts.
Although many tools and
materials have been introduced to improve this situation, too often
these attempts fail due to challenges associated with distribution of
the materials, ineffective content for the region, or inappropriate
dependencies on funding or infrastructure.
Limited Access to Information
As
a result of the inadequate options for literacy learning, impoverished
communities with the greatest needs are left with the least access to
information that can improve their health, economic opportunity, and
ability to defend their human rights. This kind of information can
often be found within the country or even the region where it is
needed. The difficulty comes in efficiently delivering information to
millions of people throughout vast rural areas. When the information is
intended for those who cannot read, only two options are available
today: face-to-face communication and broadcast media.
Face-to-face
meetings will always be an important form of information delivery; but
it is costly, both in terms of staffing and transportation costs
(considering the poor roads, large rural distances, and high cost of
fuel). When half of a country's adult population is illiterate,
face-to-face delivery cannot efficiently supply the demand for
information.
Radio is the only broadly available form of
broadcast media in the rural areas of developing countries. Radio
broadcasts allow information to be distributed relatively cheaply to
large numbers of people, but they do not allow each recipient to select
the information they want at the time they want it. Conventional radio
networks also do not provide an efficient and open means for any
citizen or citizen group to distribute information.
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