Helen Abadzi

Document Type

Article

Source Publication Title

Background paper for the Education for all global monitoring report 2006: literacy for life

Abstract

Despite the existence of about one billion illiterates in the world, adult literacy programs make up 1–5 percent of government or donor budgets, and they remain severely underfunded in comparison to primary education. They have had a long and disappointing history of high dropout and low achievement. Overall, many of the 1970s campaigns had efficiency rates of about 12.5 percent, with few participants acquiring stable literacy skills. The 1990s brought new strategies that included empowering NGOs and focusing on existing groups and on management improvement for governments and cooperating organizations. The numbers of participants increased, while dropout and course completion rates improved as a result of increased attention to management,. However the outcomes of literacy instruction are still modest and may have improved little since the 1970s. Social benefits are also uncertain.Executive Summary Despite the existence of about one billion illiterates in the world, adult literacy programs make up 1–5 percent of government or donor budgets, and they remain severely underfunded in comparison to primary education. They have had a long and disappointing history of high dropout and low achievement. Overall, many of the 1970s campaigns had efficiency rates of about 12.5 percent, with few participants acquiring stable literacy skills. The 1990s brought new strategies that included empowering NGOs and focusing on existing groups and on management improvement for governments and cooperating organizations. The numbers of participants increased, while dropout and course completion rates improved as a result of increased attention to management,. However the outcomes of literacy instruction are still modest and may have improved little since the 1970s. Social benefits are also uncertain.

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education

Publication Date

5-31-2004

Language

English

Comments

Paper commissioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006, Literacy for Life

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