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3. Adult functional literacy
3.1 The situation » Up
Only 36 percent of the population over fifteen years of age are functionally literate in the full meaning of the concept. Another 27 percent are semi-literate. A full 37 percent of the adult population are totally illiterate. The national literacy rate, including semi-literates, for men is estimated at 79 percent, while for women it averages only 57 percent. There is substantial variability within the country, between urban and rural areas, and ethnic minorities rank the lowest. The provinces of Steung Treng, Mondulkiri, Odar Meancheay, Preah Vihear, Koh Kong and Ratanakiri all rank below the national average (ranging in ascending order from 23 to 56 percent literacy).
In the priority 15-24 year old age group, there are an estimated 400,000 illiterate men and 700,000 illiterate women in Cambodia. In the 25-45 year old range, there are an estimated additional 1.2 million illiterates. Current adult functional literacy training capacity in Cambodia is estimated at approximately 50,000 students per year. Also, less than half of literacy instructors are female which means a shortage of role models for illiterate women.
3.2 The rationale » Up
Poverty continues to put at risk youth and adults whose low literacy levels and limited life and work-related knowledge and skills seriously impede their ability to contribute to, or benefit from, national socio-economic progress. The knowledge and skills required to work in the "new" economy or to take advantage of advances in the traditional agricultural economy are critically limited for youth and adults who are not functionally literate. Illiterate women are at special risk from high birth-rates, maternal mortality, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and HIV/AIDS. Literate parents are also better able to earn a living and support their children, especially women as mothers supporting children's schooling, and as teachers and education managers fostering child-friendly learning environments.
Human development, at the level of individuals, involves a process of learning and applying what is learned to better the quality of life. Functional literacy is a critical first step in the process of learning how to learn. Functional literacy, with its emphasis on literacy, numeracy and life skills, is a pre-requisite for social, cultural and economic development at both the macro and individual level. At the macro-economic level, there is a clear correlation between functional literacy and increases in income, investment, productivity and GDP. Functional literacy, when combined with better health, nutrition and income, correlates with increased life expectancy and reduced infant and maternal mortality. Marginalized populations need functional literacy to prepare them to deal with the additional hardships they face such as extreme poverty, rural to urban migration, social and occupational mobility and access to new information and markets.
3.3 The vision » Up
Illiterate people form the vast majority of the 36% of Cambodia's people who live below the poverty line. Within that group, priority will be placed on the 15-24 year olds, especially women. This group represents approximately 45% of the illiterates in Cambodia. Further, within this group, action will be taken to reach those most excluded: by geography (remote low-density and mountainous regions); by environment (flood-prone, high-malaria and mine-infested districts); by social instability (newly-integrated, resettled communities); by life situation (street/working children, demobilized soldiers); and by culture (ethnic minorities). Cross-cutting all of these, action will ensure full inclusion of women and people with disabilities. This group is also the key to Cambodia's social and economic future. In the next thirteen years, this group will become the majority of parents and the heart of the labour force.
3.4 Long-term objective » Up
To increase the functional literacy rate from 63% (36% literate and 27% semi-literate) to 82% fully literate adults over 15 years of age and eliminate all gender disparities by 2015.
3.5 Medium-term objectives » Up
- To increase the functional literacy rate among the priority 15 to 24 year old group to 90%, and eliminate all gender disparities for this group by 2010;
- To ensure that 50% of all literacy trainers and instructors are female by 2010.
3.6 Short-term objectives » Up
In partnership between all relevant ministries and NGOs:
- To double expansion of annual instructional capacity to 100,000 persons by 2005, with priority on the critical 15 to 24 year old age group;
- To ensure at least 70% of those trained from 2003 to 2005 are women;
- To achieve a high-quality revision of the full adult functional literacy curriculum and all instructional materials by 2005;
- To achieve a high-quality revision of trainer/instructor selection and training systems;
- To ensure at least 40% of instructors are female by 2005.
3.7 Program modalities » Up
Functional literacy is broadly defined as a group of literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. Essential life skills includes problem-solving, critical thinking, information gathering, decision-making, communication, negotiation, and learning how to learn. These skills will enable people to better address their own priorities (childcare, income-generation, wage earning, health and nutrition, community decision-making, etc.) and to independently pursue their own livelihood and learning needs. The current curriculum totals 200 hours of structured learning.
All functional literacy activities must be closely linked with income generation, early childhood care and post literacy activities and increasingly delivered through integrated community learning centres. The post-literacy program, in addition to reinforcing literacy and providing new knowledge to the community, will also address the needs of the "semi-literates" mentioned above through a special remedial instruction program.
Following the principle of decentralization, the primary role of the national level will be to train, facilitate and support the provincial level. Actual planning will take place at the provincial, district and commune level, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations. The majority of implementation will take place at the commune and village level.
3.8 Key tasks » Up
Build partnerships between governmental and non-governmental agencies to:
- Develop decentralized planning and implementation: Train provincial, district and commune authorities how to plan, implement and monitor functional literacy activities, including how to identify, target and "map" specific communities according to established priorities (poverty, age, gender, ethnicity, social group);
- Develop materials: Revise functional literacy learning and teaching materials to reflect more life skills content and use of adult learning methodology. Curriculum and materials must be relevant to the socio-cultural, life skill and work-related context of disadvantaged youth, adults and women. Materials must continue to be "modular" for flexibility of delivery according to learner needs; must incorporate adult learning methodologies; and be highly visual (not dense written text);
- Select and train trainers: Develop guidelines and training materials for selecting and training (provincial/district) trainers, who should increasingly be female (50% by 2010). Adult learning methodologies must be used and emphasized. Trainers must be exposed to all NFE and development training programs available or planned for their area as a way of building horizontal integration. Ongoing in-service training should also be developed in cooperation with monitoring activities;
- Select and train local functional literacy instructors: In a similar manner, develop guidelines and training materials for selecting and training local community functional literacy instructors, who should increasingly be female (50% by 2010). Adult learning methodologies must be used and emphasized. Local instructors must be exposed to the full range of NFE and development training programs available or planned for their community. Local instructors should also be introduced to community-development facilitation skills, perhaps through in-service training;
- Monitor functional literacy activities: With local authorities and community representatives, undertake selective on-site case studies of various functional literacy activities to determine more precisely who is being reached and how effectively. Develop systems for monitoring performance of trainers and instructors. Short-term objectives will be revised each year depending upon progress.
- Develop bi-lingual education: Equivalent materials will be developed for bi-lingual education of ethnic minorities. The policy encouraging a bi-lingual education for ethnic minorities must be clearly communicated to all levels of government
3.9 Indicators » Up
- Increased net enrolment in functional literacy activities, by gender;
- Increased net number of functional library facilitators and remedial literacy instructors literacy graduates, by gender;
- Increased number of trainers and trained literacy-life skills instructors;
- Functional literacy materials tested and revised for pro-poor relevance and adult learning methodology;
- Increased number of governmental and non-governmental partnered adult functional literacy activities, including joint instructor training and monitoring of learning achievement;
- Increased literacy in selected poverty/vulnerable groups, especially women;
- Increased demand for, and participation in, community-based adult literacy activities by the most disadvantaged and women;
- Evidence of literacy graduates applying improved knowledge and skills in managing their quality-of-life and earning income;
- Increased numbers of women from poverty areas and ethnic minorities trained and deployed as trainers and instructors.
3.10 Indicative financial requirements » Up
Currently, it costs approximately $25 for each person who completes a 200 hour functional literacy course.
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