Botswana's literacy rate of 81%: A reflection that raises more questions...

* DR LILLIAN MOKGOSI | Friday September 24, 2010 00:00

key question is what is meant by literacy? What indicators could be singled out to explain literacy measurement indicators?  Who measures these and who decides the scores for various countries?

According to United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP, 2009) Botswana's literacy rate is 81percent, putting Botswana at position 93 out 182 countries in the Human Development Report by (UNDP, 2009). 

Other countries with similar literacy rates of 83 and 82percent include Honduras, Syria and Iran. In the SADC region, Zimbabwe leads at 90%, South Africa with 86, Namibia, 83.3% and Lesotho, 81,4%, Swaziland, 80.9%, Zambia, 79,9 percent, Tanzania, 77.1, Malawi, 61.8 percent and Mozambique rates 46.5 percent.

Since 1990, (UNDP) annually publishes a Human Development Report to highlight the human development index (HDI) which looks beyond (GDP) to provide a broader definition of well-being.  The (HDI) provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

At its most basic level, literacy is described as one's ability to read and write. A more extended meaning of literacy is captured in UNESCO, (2009) 'ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use 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 the wider society. Another noteworthy conception of literacy is drawn from The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL, 2009) who define literacy as 'the ability to use the printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential'.  In order for one to have this ability, the NAAL says that one must not only recognise letters and words, but to also make inferences, draw conclusions, understand cause and effect relationships and other higher level skills.

That means it is not just the ability to read and write bu, also to understand, use and apply what you read, and communicate effectively in writing. Furthermore, when one develops literacy skills, he or she is learning not just to ready, but to think in order to apply your knowledge from one area to other areas. The various perspectives on what literacy raise significant questions for Botswana's education system.  At basic and post basic, the Botswana's education philosophy was designed to endorse, problematise as well as achieve the core national principles of democracy, development, self-reliance, unity and 'botho/.  In essence, a literate Motswana should go beyond being able to read and write their names, but to also be of disposition and actions that are a reflection of those core national principles.

High literacy levels increases the probability of employment in a changing economy.

High literacy levels should also translate into the ability to create employment opportunities. Again key questions to ask here relate to the extent to which our education system's products are able to address the a-fore mentioned. Another example drawn from agriculture and farming indicates that high literacy rates affect awareness and provide alternative and improved methods in farming production. In what ways does our education system contribute towards better farming skills and methods, is yet another area which remains unfulfilled on the ground...

UNESCO - ACEID (1997) says an educated citizenry is vital to implementing informed and sustainable development. A national sustainability plan can be enhanced or limited by the level of education attained by the nation's citizens. Nations with high illiteracy rates and unskilled workforces (as the report puts it) have fewer development options. For the most part, these nations are forced to buy energy and manufactured goods on the international market with hard currency, yet again a point of reflection for our moderately high literacy rates.

Some researchers have argued that the definition of literacy should be expanded. For example, in the United States, the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association have added 'visually representing' to the traditional list of competencies.

Similarly, in Scotland, literacy has been defined as: 'The ability to read and write and use numeracy to handle information, to express ideas and opinions, to make decisions and solve problems, as family members, workers, citizens and lifelong learners'.

Freire, in Sheed and Ward (1974) states that to acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. 'It is to dominate those techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands; it is to communicate graphically. Acquiring literacy does not involve memorising sentences, words or syllables--lifeless objects unconnected to an existential universe--but rather an attitude of creation and re-creation, a self-transformation producing a stance of intervention in one's context'.

Such extended meanings of literacy are critical, indeed difficult to measure, but they highlight that literacy must be a tool for personal empowerment and a means for social and human development.

A good quality basic education undoubtedly equips pupils with literacy skills for life and further learning and if their parents are literate and can 'afford school fees' they are more likely to send their children to school and ensure that the there is no regression in educational terms. It is therefore important to reflect on the multi-facetted nature of the concept of literacy and critically draw on the broader definitions towards improvement of the quality of life. In engaging with these broader definitions, perhaps a home grown definition of literacy which explores extended outcomes or exit profiles of our learners in the education system could be examined to ensure that education directly affects sustainability plans in areas mostly needed by our economy to address issues of moral literacy and development, poverty eradication, job creation and employment, creativity and innovation, decision making and general improvement in the quality of life among many other propositions around the issue of improved literacy rates.

* Dr. Lillian Mokgosi (Curriculum Design and Development Specialist in UB)