WUNRN
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31 May 2012 by Hans Botnen Eide
New
data released by the UNESCO
Institute for Statistics show that literacy rates for adults and youth are
continuing to rise. But 775 million adults still cannot read and write – and
many countries are unlikely to meet the Education for All goal of halving adult
illiteracy by 2015.
The
new data show that the strongest literacy gains were for young women aged
15-24. Women still lag behind, however. In 2010, 87% of young women had basic
literacy skills, compared with 92% of men. The UIS website features interactive
illustrations of the new data by country, gender and in relation to GDP.
Some
countries with large illiterate populations, such as
The
benefits of having a literate population are immense. Literacy increases
people’s self-esteem and creates opportunities to escape poverty. It equips
women with the knowledge and confidence to participate in decisions that affect
them. Literacy programmes also promote equity when targeting populations with a
history of marginalization.
Literacy can also clear
the path to peace, as we discussed on this blog for the International
Literacy Day in September. Any government with a commitment to basic human
rights and poverty reduction, or with an interest in removing a major barrier
to economic growth, should therefore make reducing illiteracy a priority.
The
slow progress towards halving illiteracy is mainly due to a lack of political
commitment. As we found in the 2011 EFA Global Monitoring
Report, the common notion that rapid advances in adult literacy
are neither feasible nor affordable is not well grounded in evidence. On the
contrary, effective policy interventions with strong leadership, clear targets
and financial commitments can produce impressive results. Achieving the
literacy goal would represent less than 2% of the global Education for All
financing requirement.
The 2012 EFA Global Monitoring
Report, which will be launched on October 16, will focus on how
skills – including basic skills like literacy and numeracy – can help young
marginalized people get decent jobs and better lives.