Promoting Multilingual Education: Literacy for Mutual Understanding and Peace

“Acquiring literacy is an empowering process, enabling millions to enjoy access to knowledge and information which broadens horizons, increases opportunities and creates alternatives for building a better life.”- Kofi Annan. Despite steady progress made across the world, literacy challenges persist with at least 763 million young people and adults lacking basic literacy skills in 2020. Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society. The importance of our basic human rights to literacy is celebrated and observed on International Literacy Day on September 8 annually. The day is dedicated to promoting the importance of literacy as a tool for empowering individuals and building more inclusive societies. Established by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1967, this day has grown into a global movement, drawing attention to the challenges of illiteracy and advocating for accessible education for all. At its core, literacy refers to the ability to read, write, and comprehend information. However, in today’s world, literacy extends far beyond these basic skills. Functional literacy, for example, encompasses the ability to apply reading and writing skills to solve problems, make informed decisions, and engage meaningfully in society. The theme this year is “Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace”. According to UNESCO there is a pressing need to harness the transformative potential of literacy for promoting mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace. In today’s world, in which multilingualism is a common practice for many, empowering people by adopting a first language-based, multilingual approach to literacy development and education is particularly effective for its cognitive, pedagogical, and socio-economic benefits. Such an approach can help promote mutual understanding and respect, while solidifying communal identities and collective histories. Gender Gap . Of the roughly 781 million adults worldwide who cannot read or write, nearly two-thirds are females. This disparity is particularly noticeable in less-developed countries, in which women are faced with increased vulnerability and are expected to stay at home and care for the house and children while the men go off to work. Worldwide, girls aged 5-14 spend more than 160 million hours more on household chores than boys of the same age. Disturbingly, the education of girls beyond primary schools has been suspended in Afghanistan. The international community has been rather quiet on this matter and this is problematic. The developed nations of the world have much higher literacy rates with smaller gaps if any between the genders. This is primarily due to more attention being paid to gender equality. According to the World Literacy Foundation, illiteracy costs the global economy $1.5 trillion annually. The Jamaica Education Transformation Commission (JETC) report by Professor Orlando Patterson indicated troubling levels of inadequacy in literacy. The JETC report showed that most students at the primary level were barely literate. According to the JETC, the 2019 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exam revealed that 33% of students cannot read or can barely do so, 56 % of students cannot write or barely and 58% of students cannot find information on a topic or barely. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic there must be a redoubling of efforts to close the literacy gap. According to UNESCO nearly 24 million learners might never return to formal education, out of which, 11 million are projected to be girls and young women. Sustainable Development Goals. Literacy is a key enabler of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In particular goal #4 that addresses quality education. Only 58% of students worldwide achieved at least the minimum proficiency level in reading at the end of primary schooling in 2019. A large share of countries is moving backwards in learning outcomes at the end of lower secondary school. Improvement in upper secondary completion rate has slowed since 2015. Some regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, are facing teacher shortages, high student-teacher ratios, and inadequate training and lack of professional development opportunities for teachers. Four in five 6th graders in the Caribbean are expected to lack basic reading comprehension proficiency. “Latin America and the Caribbean face an unprecedented education crisis, which could compromise our countries’ future development,” said Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank VP for Latin America and the Caribbean. Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. Education, in many English-speaking countries in the Caribbean, has been patterned after the British colonial system that was created for the white colonizers. Although it has changed over the years, it is still reflected in the elitist examination system. The World Bank’s 2022 breakdown shows the following literacy rates: 1. Barbados (99.9%); 2. Trinidad and Tobago (99.9%); 3. Antigua and Barbuda (99.8%); 4. St. Kitts/Nevis (99%); 5. Grenada (99%); 6. Montserrat (97%); 7. St. Vincent and the Grenadines (96%); 8. Bahamas (95%); 9. Suriname (94.4%); 10. Dominica (94%); 11. St. Lucia (90%); 12. Jamaica (88%); 13. Guyana (86%); 14. Belize (83%); and 15. Haiti (61%). Over the years, Jamaica's literacy interventions programmes have reaped rich benefits. However, in recent years, we have witnessed diminishing returns. This clearly is a call to action. Policy makers therefore must find creative ways to re-engage those who are desirous to become literate. Such an intervention must have a component that also targets the early childhood education. The Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning needs a dose or two reading oxygen in order to shake off lethargy and complacency. In Pursuit of Content Literacy . In many schools there is a deficit regarding reading specialists. As students transition from primary to the secondary level the focus turns from learning how to read to using reading to learn. This shift in focus is commonly referred to reading in the content area. Content area reading is the reading that a person (usually a student) needs to complete and understand in a particular subject area. All teachers across the curriculum and across grade levels can play a role in teaching students to use reading skills and strategies to learn the content of the subjects in order to become independent readers and learners. Educators can specifically provide students with instructions that promote content area vocabulary development and familiarize students with the structure of expository text. Research has indicated how important literacy is on a personal level as well as for sustainable development. As the international community pause and reflect on International Literacy Day we all need to examine ourselves to see how best we can contribute in assisting in the promotion of literacy in spaces we occupy. It is only by engaging in a collective effort that we will see the transformation of literacy learning spaces ballooning into full fledge learning outcomes for those struggling with issues surrounding literacy. Literacy is a key ingredient for the development of a productive citizen to achieve social and community harmony and economic development. In the words of Barack Obama, literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #InternationalLiteracyDay