What have we done to improve literacy in Nigeria?

Tuesday, September 8, 2015, marks the International Literacy Day. Few years ago when Chief Nyesom Wike asserted that Nigeria’s adult illiterates have increased from 25 million in 1997 to 35 million in 2013, he equally did not hide the nation’s embarassment over the 10.5 million children that are out of school. The question is what have we done to improve literacy in Nigeria?Where are we getting it wrong? Why don’t we focus more on early child literacy programmes?

The irony is that even with the proliferation of educational institutions,the  Education for All, EFA, Global Monitoring report still ranked Nigeria as one of the countries with the highest level of illiteracy!

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),literacy is the “ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society”.

The ability to read, write, spell, listen, speak, use language, numbers, images and symbols, includes skills to access knowledge through technology hence, the buzz about computer literacy.

Clearly, literacy is synonymous with societal advancement. Thus the theme of this year’s International Literacy Day, ‘Literacy and Sustainable Societies’. Literacy is looked upon as a solution to problems such ill health, insecurity, poverty and other life challenges.

UNESCO notes that about 774 million adults lack the minimum literacy skills. One in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women. About 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. However, there is light in the tunnel because there ‘are nearly four billion literate people in the world’.

The acquisition of language and literacy skill happens because from infancy, there is need for interaction and communication. Meaningful interactions, experiences and activities culminates to learning.

We are told that the first step towards literacy is reading development. It entails having an awareness of speech sounds (phonology), spelling patterns (orthography), word meaning (semantics), grammar (syntax) and patterns of word formation (morphology). These culminates into reading fluency and comprehension, writing  accuracy and coherency, creative writing and  informed decisions.

If early literacy begins at birth, why don’t we catch them young? Children learn naturally during play, in daily experiences and explicit instruction from observant , sensitive and trained adults. Adult education is good but early child education ensures that speaking, listening, reading and writing  develop concurrently and not sequentially.   

Therefore meaningful reading and writing experiences for our children through a unique combination of child-initiated learning and teacher-guided instructions  will prevent illiteracy or analphabetism.

I advocate that we should make Early Literacy, the core of our nation’s literacy programmes. Let there be an avenue to put a book in the hands of every infant, free of charge!

CHIAMAKA BOBBY-UMEANO