Literacy
Literacy is a pressing issue on the Adult Education agenda for the Arab Region,
the key to development beyond the notion of reading and writing; it also
encompasses language and computer skills and other relevant skills needed to
cope in modern society and fully participate in all aspects of life.
Literacy Improvement. In 1980 the Arab States were able to attain 51.3%
literacy rate, an increase of 11% from the previous decade (40.8%). A decade
later that rate rose to 61.5%, an increase of only 10%. This was not a
considerable increase if these countries were keen to eradicate illiteracy or cut
it in half by the year 2000 in accordance with the 1990 Jomtein Declaration. In
other words, at an annual rate of 1% increase, the Arab countries will need an
additional 39 years to eradicate illiteracy2
.
Literacy Rates. Great variations exist among the Arab states in their literacy
rates for the age group 15 and over. The most recent data (Table 1) reveals that
such literacy rates range from 80% and above in nine countries (Jordan, United
Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and
Libya), which are relatively small states with the exception of Saudi Arabia, to
less than 75% in nine other countries with large populations, with Iraq,
Mauritania and Yemen standing as low as 40% and 41.2% and 49%
respectively.
As John Daniel, former UNESCO Assistant Director General for Education
alarmingly warns “the Arab region has some of the world’s lowest adult
literacy rates, with only [62.2%] of the region’s population of 15 and over able
2
The Regional Report on Education for All in the Arab Countries, The Regional Arab Conference, Assessment 2000,
UNESCO, Cairo, Egypt, 2000, p.65
. 3
to read and write in [2000-2004] well below the world average of [84%] and
the developing countries average of [76.4%]”3
.
As for the age group 15-24 (Table 1), the achievements were greater, whereby
eleven countries attained a literacy rate of 90% and over well above the world
average of 87.6% (Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Syria, Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria,
Libya, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Tunisia), with Jordan scoring the highest (99.4%).
Such “literacy abundant” countries are contrasted to another “literacy deprived”
group of five states with the largest Arab population all scoring below the
developing countries average of 85.2% (Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania,
and Yemen).
Improvement of Female Literacy. Female literacy rates 15 and over
(Table 1) in the Arab world today range from 24 (Iraq) to 85.9 percent
(Jordan). Between 1990 and 2000- 2004, six Arab countries ranked above the
world average of 76.5%. Bahrain raised it female literacy rate from 74.6% to
84.2%, Jordan from 72.1% to 85.9%, Kuwait from 72.6% to 81%, Lebanon
from 73.1% to 82%, Qatar from 76% to 82.3%, and the United Arab Emirates
from 70% to 80.7%.
However, despite such a great strides in female literacy in these countries, high
rates of illiteracy among women persists in the majority of the Arab countries,
indeed women today account for two thirds of the region’s illiterates and
according to the Arab Human Development Report 2002, p.52, this rate is not
expected to disappear “not until 2040”. Several factors seem to account for
such a deficit, chief among them are the low base in primary enrollment from
which such countries started, the slow down in the rate of increase in
enrollment during the 1990s compared with the 1980s, with an apparent bias
against female (AHDR 2002, p.52), the decline in public expenditure on
education since 1995 (AHDR 2003, p.52), in addition to “a decline in political
commitment or inappropriate approaches to rectifying the situation”4
.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001462/146282e.pdf you can get the whole thing here :) hope this helps sorry if its not accurate :)
