COVID-19 WORSENS ILLITERACY LEVELS, SAYS ZANEC
THE Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to an increase in illiteracy levels among citizens due to challenges faced in accessing digital platforms, says Zambia National Educational Coalition (ZANEC).
ZANEC Executive Director, George Hamusunga, noted that not everyone has access to digital platforms hence increasing the inequalities.
He said this in Livingstone in a message to mark this year's World Literacy Day which falls on September 8 every year.
Mr Hamusunga said there was need to narrow down or completely reduce the digital division between the vulnerable and the privileged people in accessing e-learning.
According to Zambia Demographic Health Survey 2018 respondents living in urban areas were more likely to be literate than those living in rural areas.
The gap in literacy rates between urban and rural
populations is higher among women than among men.
Statistics shows that 81 per cent of urban women and 91 per cent of urban men are literate, as compared with 54 per cent of rural women and 74 per cent of rural.
Mr Hamusunga said Zambia should invest more in ICT equipment and stellates to ensure that everyone regardless of status is able to access learning.
"It important to know that literacy cannot wait, it has to continue for the country to develop and meet its sustainable development goals and national development plans as well as for the citizens to live decent lives.
"As ZANEC, we observed with sadness that the 2021 budget for Youth and Adult
Literacy allocation was K2.5 million which made it impossible for Alternatives Modes of Education Programme (AMEP) to be effectively provided," he said.
He said research also showed that e-learning and television education programmes were only reaching a few children due to lack of internet, high cost of internet bundles, load shedding of power and lack of ICT equipment or gadgets in general among children.
"Amidst the Covid-19, we expected that AMEP would receive a lion’s share allocation so as to address the challenges in the provision of AMEP.
“Furthermore, ZANEC research conducted in June 2020 in all the provinces with the participation of key stakeholders sadly revealed that the reach of the alternative modes of learning that the Ministry of General Education is implementing is below 23 per cent," Mr Hamusunga said.
The ZANEC executive director has called upon the new government to increase funding for the 2022 national budget allocation to education sector from current 11.5 per cent to at least 15 per cent with the aim of reaching 20 per cent by the year 2023.