P « 8 * 4 Portland Observer M ay 14.1961
Pacific
One-third of world population illiterate
By Barbara S. Moffet
National Geographic News Service
NEW YORK - Almost one-third of
the people in the w orld -- 8I4
million -- don’ t know how to read or
w rite, according to UNESCO
estimates.
That includes tw o-thirds o f the
people in Atnca and a third of those
in Asia, excluding the Soviet Union.
In at least IO A frican countries
and four Arab slates, the estimated
illiteracy rate surpasses 80 percent.
In numbers o f illiterates, the top IO
nations are India, Indonesia,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria,
Brazil, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, and
Afghanistan. Each has at least IO
million.
PUPIL EXPLOSION:
Population booms in some coun
tries are w iping out gains in the
classroom. I iteracy campaigns in
India, for example, have not kept
up with the numbers of people need
ing instruction. By the year 2000,
India is expected to have half o f the
world’ s illiterates.
completely literate, although some
persons are more literate than
others.”
In the early l95O’ s, as world a t
tention firs t turned to illite ra c y ,
UNESCO, the United Nations
Educational,
S cientific,
and
Cultural Organization, drew up this
definition: ’’A person is literate who
can with understanding both read
and write a short, simple statement
on his everyday lif e . " But, as has
been pointed out since then, does
such a test mean anything in an ad
vanced society such as the United
Stales?
‘ ‘ You go into the South Bronx or
Brooklyn and find people who can
perform better than literates in the
T h ird W o rld , but i t ’ s worthless
because they can’ t gel a job without
a high school education,” said
Carman St. John Hunter, co-author
o f "A dult Illiteracy in the United
States. ”
The U nited State's o ffic ia l
literacy rate is 99 percent. Yet the
actual number o f illiterates is not
again within three years.
UNESCO learned that literacy is
not merely an educational issue but
also a psychological, c u ltu ra l,
sociological, and economic one.
And the program raised the chicken-
and-egg question: W hich comes
first, literacy or economic develop
ment?
‘ ‘ Many nations believe literacy is
the key to development, and this is
probably false,” author H unter
said. “ I f you learn to read but
there’s nowhere to use your skills, it
does little good. The highest levels
o f literacy have come out about in
countries already on their way to in
dustrial development.”
Mrs. H unter is a technical
specialist fo r W orld Education, a
New York-based organization that
is changing its approach to
spreading literacy.
“ The
p rio rity
of
W orld
Education used to be straight
literacy, but we found that it wasn’ t
the learner’ s p r io r ity ,” a stafi
member explained.
UNKNOW N
33% OR LESS
34% -6 6 %
67 % OR MORE
ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE
OF ADULT ILLITERACY
SEPTEMBER 1980 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
SOURCE UNESCO
11 I I I I It M 1 is c o iic e iitr a te d m i tw o e m i t in e u ts — M i ii .1
a nd \ s ia —a c c o rd in g to I M X (1. I lie u n it k lr ii an c o u n
trie s b e lie v e d to base .13 per« r ut o r less illite r a c s arc / . n u
b ia . Z im b a b w e , o w l S o u th \ l i ii a. f ig u r e s arc n u t as a il a b le
lo r U ig o la a n d \ a in ib iu ( in d ic a te d bs q u e s tio n m a rk s >. In
\s ia . illit c r a i s is liig lic s t in P a kista n . M g b a n is ta n . N é p a l,
and on llic \ r a liia n l ’c n iiis u la . I ig n re s lo i N u i'tli k m e .i.
M o u g o lia . a n d ( b in a arc m it kiio s s n . a lt lio u g li ( b in a
( la im s lo base re d u e e d illite r a c s to 15 p e rc e n t, lu S im ili
M n c ric a . u n is B o lis ia bas a rate b ig b c r tli.m i l p e u c u l
(Nalionul lieorgruphic Simelv)
In most parts o f the w orld,
women illiterates outnum ber the
men. female illiteracy in Africa and
the Arab states, where women have
less access to schools, is about 85
percent. In Yemen, on the Arabian
Peninsula, 99.5 percent o f the
women can’t read or write.
A ccording to projections by
UNESCO, there will be 884 million
illiterates worldwide by 1990, a rise
o f 70 m illio n in a decade. But the
prediction is not as grim as it
sounds: The percentage of illiterates
is falling.
Increasing school enrollm ents
have gradually educated larger
proportions o f the population so
that the estimated number o f
literates is rising faster than the
number o f illiterates. The projected
884 million will represent only about
26 percent o f the world population,
down from a current rate o f about
29 percent.
And there are other bright notes.
The governments of Cuba and Tan
zania, fo r example, claim their
literacy drives have turned
predominantly illiterate societies in
to more literate ones.
Although some who are burdened
with the task of eradicating illiteracy
might pat themselves on the backs
over the successes, others caution
that literacy figures, especially
predictions, are suspect.
ROSY STATISTICS:
“ You have to take those projec
tions w ith an enormous pinch o f
salt,” warned Dr. Kenneth King of
the International Development Re
search Centre in Canada, which
funds research on world problems
including illiteracy.
“ f o r one thing, the figures
assume that attending school en
sures literacy. We know a lot about
how many kids start grade one, but
less about who attends grade four,
and even less o f what the kids know
later.”
Governments taking literacy sur
veys often rely on the individual's
word about his reading abilities. So
Uuacy figures can represent mere
guesses, sometimes inflated to boost
a nation's image. Actual illiteracy,
some authorities say, is more wide
spread than statistics show.
“ Some countries have confessed
illite ra c y rates that are e x tra o r
dinary high, so the actual figures
must be really extreme,” King said.
The biggest problem is gauging
world literacy islh itn a-® "- 1
exactely wnat it is. As a UNESCO
°\
publication mused: “ No one is ’
known, according to Paul Delker,
director o f Adult Education in the
U.S. Department o f Education.
Besides uncounted illegal aliens,
there is an unknown number of high
school graduates who have
diplomas but not the ability to read
a job application.
FUNCTIONAL INCOMPETENTS
A U niversity o f Texas study
found 20 percent o f American
adults to be “ fu n ctiona lly incom
petent” -- lacking the skills to per
form such a basic task as w riting a
note to their child’s teacher.
Illiteracy in the United States is
proportionately highest in the South
and, predictably, among minorities,
the poor, and the elderly. Private
organizations and the government
spend millions o f dollars every year
on the problem , but probably a t
tract only a small fra ctio n o f the
illiterates, some of whom are finan
c ia lly successful and keep their
illiteracy closeted.
For Harry Harper, a 34-ycar-old
sheet metal worker who grew up in
New York City, the inability to read
became an intolerable frustration.
Now he takes an elevator twice a
week to the top o f a Manhattan sky
scraper for free reading lessons o f
fered by the Literacy Volunteers o f
America.
He hopes to pick up what he
missed before dropping out o f
school in the seventh grade, blaming
" th e system” fo r fa ilin g to teach
him the basics.
‘ ‘ I felt left out o f a lot o f things,"
Harper said. ‘ ‘ I want to read some
good books, like American history
and mystery stories.”
Teaching the rest o f the world to
read is a more com plicated
prospect. UNESCO tried it from
1967 to 1973 in a campaign that en
compassed 11 nations. Its aims — to
demonstrate the economic and
social values o f literacy and to pave
the way fo r a larger world literacy
effort - were only partly met.
“ N either literacy nor develop
ment can be willed into existence by
international agencies,” a UNESCO
report later concluded. “ A t best
they can perhaps prick the con
science o f national governments.”
ILLITERACY RELAPSE:
The program did spawn literacy
campaigns by the governments o f
Algeria. India, Mali and Tanzania.
But it was plagued by problems such
as high dropout rates, and in at least
one Asian country the m ajority of
pupils fin ish in g four years o f
prim a ry education were illite ra te
Now the organization promotes
com m unity development with
projects such as one in a town in
Kenya,
where
women
have
organized a bakery lo raise money.
The project led to the wom en’ s
desire lo im prove sanitation
facilities in the town and now many
have asked for literacy classes.
TIGHT BUDGETS
Economic and social realities are
holding back progress in much o f
the Third W orld. Developed coun
tries spend far more per inhabitant
on education than developing coun
tries do. About half o f the school-
age children in A frica and Asia do
not go to school.
A high percentage o f those are
girls, a situation that concerns
Citizen
Power o f the Week
economists. ‘ ‘O f all the disparities,
none is o f greater hindrance to
development than that based on
sex,” a W orld Bank policy paper
states. Studies have shown that
women with even marginal reading
skills take better care of infants and
practice birth control more effec
tively.
Third W orld literacy efforts suf
fer from other problems. In Senegal
in western Africa, literacy programs
must be carried out in six languages,
W o lo f, Serer, Peul, D iula, Man-
dingo, and Soninke. In Somalia, on
the eastern African coast, roads had
to be b u ilt in rural areas before
literacy classes could begin, and
teachers battled rough living con
ditions as well as prejudice among
their nomadic pupils. Severe
drought finally curtailed the effort.
There have been some well adver
tised successes, many in socialist
nations where a literacy class can
come with a dose o f ideology.
UNESCO figures are not
available, but China claims to have
reduced illiteracy from 85 percent to
15 percent since 1949, intertwining
the program with language reform
and destruction o f class barriers.
The Soviet U nion asserts it
elim inated most illite ra cy before
World War II. In Cuba Castro sent
brigades o f young teachers out to
eradicate illite ra cy in 1961. They
apparently came close.
Pockets o f illiteracy persist in the
Caribbean, notably H aiti, where an
estimated 71 percent o f the people
can’t read or write.
Some Latin American countries
have used the methods o f Paulo
I reire, a Brazilian educator who
has advocated literacy as a tool to
help the poor improve their lives.
Under this method, students might
discuss building w ith bricks, the
construction ol their houses, and
housing as a com m unity problem
before the written word for brick is
ever introduced.
ARMY OFTUTORS:
In one o f the most am bitious
recent campaigns, Nicaragua has
sent out an army o f tutors, some as
young as 11, to teach 600,000
peasants and laborers to read and
write. Cuba is helping Nicaragua in
I he $20 million drive.
Cindy Jackson is an eighth grader at Boise Elemen
tary School - a model student. A excellent student,
she participates in the TAG program (Talented and
Gifted). Described by her teachers as very conscient
ious and faithful with assignments. She is a student
who wants to achieve. Cindy is a page editor for
"Boise Speaks" and is always willing to work - "Call
me anytime."
At Boise she participated in College Bowl during
her 8th grade year, and last week came in third in the
400 meter dash.
Cindy has been accepted by Benson High School,
where she intends to study electronics and be an en
gineer or an Editor.
She is active in the Maranatha Church youth
group.
Cindy is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edison Jack-
son. She has seven brothers and sisters.
BROUGHTTO YOU BY
Pacific
Power
X 0 D U S
(0íz£rzt</zv¿¿z>í
¿ ¡u ta fa n a f a r u f i f f w ¡ /m e n / f^eet/ee
1639 N.E. Alberta
PORTLAND. OREGON 9721 1
294 7997
From the Front Door
Honor Atiyeh
The Oregon Human Development
Corporation w ill bestow its highest
award, the Golden Aztec, on
Governor V ictor A tiyeh, O H D C
Vice President C andido Morales
announced.
“ I t ’ s only fittin g ,” Morales
noted. ‘ ‘ The Governor has demon
strated commitment and leadership
in causing m ajor and statewide
changes in public attitudes toward
ethnic m inorities in Oregon,
especially for Blacks and Hispanics.
He initiated the Racial Harassment
Bill (HB 2479) and, by executive or
der, established the Black and His
panic A ffa irs Commissions.” The
Governor was nominated fo r the
award by members o f the Hispanic
Affairs Commission.
The Golden Aztec Award w ill be
presented at the O H D C ’ s upcoming
first annual Recognition Awards
Dinner-Dance at the River Queen
Restaurant in Portland. Tickets are
$15.00 and may be ordered through
local O H D C offices or purchased
at the door. The event w ill take
place on Saturday, May 16th,
beginning at 6:00 P.M.
Oregon Human Development
Corporaton administers job training
and other human services in
Oregon. The yearly recognition
awards dinner-dance is part o f O H
DC’ s e ffo rt to honor individuals
and groups who have worked to im
prove human services for members
o f ethnic m in o rity groups, fo r
women, and fo r other under-em
ployed or unemployed people.
Bv Tom Boothe
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