
LITERACY INITIATIVE

Submitted by : THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN




      In order to meet the goal agreed upon in the G8 Plan of Support for Reform to impart literacy skills to an additional 20 million people in the region by 2015, a concrete plan of action is required that is coordinated with donor and recipient countries.  Multilateral institutions, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector can be involved in this effort so that we can benefit from their collective experience in this area of development.

Due to the high illiteracy rates in Afghanistan that were caused by years of conflict and destruction of the educational system and institutions, literacy is a top priority issue for the country. The lessons learned and challenges faced in Afghanistan can hopefully assist other countries in the region in identifying and developing programs that reduce illiteracy.  

Afghanistan welcomes the opportunity to further promote dialogue among donors and beneficiary countries.  Along with its partner in this initiative, Algeria, Afghanistan recommends working towards the creation of a Literacy Initiative Plan of Action (“Literacy Plan”) which is agreed upon by participating countries and which addresses both common goals and country-specific needs. The Literacy Plan would set forth the actions that will be taken to reach our common goals in this area, country-specific measures that are being taken, organizations involved in the effort, funding, and other critical issues.
 
Without a specific plan, our vision for imparting literacy skills to an additional 20 million people in our region and reducing illiteracy rates by half over the next decade will be difficult to realize.
 
I.	ILLITERACY IN AFGHANISTAN: LESSONS LEARNED TO BENEFIT A REGIONAL INITIATIVE

A. Background

Like many other countries in the region at one time, Afghanistan has been largely a rural nation, with most of its population living in relatively small villages, isolated from each other by rugged terrain.  Consequently, in large part, Afghanistan evolved as a non-literate society, except in the major urban areas.1  

Afghanistan then experienced more than two decades of conflict, involving foreign military occupation, severe repression by the Taliban, and crippling civil war.  These events decimated the educational system and its physical infrastructure such as schools, roads and transportation.  Many women find themselves head of households as they have lost fathers, husbands and brothers in the conflict. 

At the same time, the “software” of education, the trained teachers and the relevant curriculum that are the norm in most countries, were fully destroyed.  The small number of libraries in universities, communities and in schools was dismantled and “information literacy” was placed in chaos. 

In addition, six years of fundamentalist rule, in which the Taliban denied women and the girls the right to an education, further increased the illiteracy rate. As a result, today an estimated 79% of women and girls in Afghanistan, and an astonishing 90% in rural areas, cannot read.  

Given these enormous challenges, the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, with the assistance of the international community, has focused on literacy as one of its top priorities.  Literacy is integrated into the country’s National Development Framework and the challenge now is implementing programs to meet needs.  One program that has been instituted is The Afghan Literacy Initiative, an accelerated literacy, numeracy, and life skills program targeting remote areas where formal schooling for girls cannot yet be provided.  The program will reach 10,000 students, 65% of whom are girls and young women aged from 7 to 25, linking literacy with skills for rural development.  This program could possibly be used as a model for other countries in the region in reaching out to their nation’s rural populations. 

B. Challenges to Reducing Illiteracy

The major components to reducing illiteracy in Afghanistan include:

1. Infrastructure
This includes schools, classrooms and related facilities to provide access to a quality and secure learning environment. 

2. “Software” 
This includes teachers and instructors, professional development tools, a modern curriculum with modern teaching methods, standards, good quality textbooks, and other learning materials that will ensure that learning is taking place. 

3. “Information Technology” 
This includes methods of information exchange.  Instruction in Afghanistan is still primarily through manuscripts, typescripts, handwritten notes and hardcopies. Afghanistan needs to move to a world of softcopies, the computer or floppy disk, and information on the Internet.

Although the situation in other nations of the Broader Middle East is not as severe in Afghanistan, the region can learn from Afghanistan’s experiences to address common problems.  Themes such as infrastructure, software and information technology can be used as guidelines in instituting programs for the region.   


II.	LESSONS LEARNED FROM LITERACY PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE

Experiences with literacy programs worldwide provide a source of best practices and models for the Literacy Plan.  The G8 Plan of Support for Reform includes an initiative to set up and maintain a regional network for sharing of experiences and best practices.  To the extent possible, existing resources should be utilized for this purpose, so that funding can be focused on actual implementation in the region.

A.	Formal Versus Non-Formal Approaches

After World War II, educational development efforts worldwide focused on expanding formal schooling. It was assumed that higher school attendance would help to end illiteracy.  However, research and experience have shown that schooling does not necessarily produce literacy or the kinds of literacy that students need. Therefore formal schooling programs might not be the best way of investing scarce literacy resources. There may be more effective means of teaching literacy skills in some areas that are more tailored to the needs of the community.

In the formal education sector, several nations have demonstrated great success by designing and supporting programs that respond to the root causes of illiteracy, both economic and cultural. These programs invariably have enhanced the quality of education, access to education, and retention in the formal education sector.

In the non-formal setting, successful programs have taken an approach to education that integrates literacy and numeracy skills development with life skills (particularly in the health arena) and with income generation.  In this way, programs providing literacy and numeracy give the learner an identifiable incentive to become literate.   A program to address literacy of girls who were not able to attend a formal education institution can also be implemented.2
 
B.	Urban versus Rural Literacy Approaches

In Afghanistan and many other countries in the region, assistance is still needed for schools, teaching standards, textbooks and curricula, even in urban areas.  Educational infrastructure in the region must be built or improved to provide the facilities needed to run literacy and training programs.   

More qualified teachers in the region are also needed. Teachers in Afghanistan still use memorization as the primary method of education.  This method has also been used in other countries in the region and new methods of teaching should be incorporated into literacy programs.  New methods of teaching are also needed through teacher-training programs that are child-centered, group-oriented and focus on critical thinking and problem solving.  

Special measures must be taken for rural education, especially for girls.  Finding qualified female, long-term teachers for rural areas is extremely difficult.  Incentives for female teachers are needed for women to teach in these areas. 

In rural areas, schools must be built closer to the communities, as families cannot send their children very far away.  Satellite schools are one avenue to address this need.  Food programs should also be included in literacy or educational programs to address the needs of children in these areas.  
      
C.	Literacy and Vocational Training

Most successful adult literacy programs are taught in conjunction with acquisition of other skills. Literacy programs for adults should tie-in with job training programs as much as possible so that the skills learned can lead to sustainable income.

There is an incentive for the private sector to employ productive individuals.  Thus, public-private partnerships should be created wherein the private sector incorporates literacy and literacy enhancement training on the job.  This creates linkages between the Literacy Initiative and the economic and private sector development programs within the G8 Plan of Support for Reform.

D.	Lessons Learned from Women and Girl’s Literacy Programs 

In order to provide for the fair and equitable delivery of educational opportunities, it is essential that literacy programs have a special focus on girls and women, particularly in our countries’ rural areas.   Literacy will help women to become educated about their religion, to tackle discrimination, abuse, health problems, and provide them with self-reliance.  

Thus, a key part of the Literacy Plan should focus on removing the barriers of entry for women and girls.  Obstacles to the enrollment of women and girls should first be identified and solutions sought.  It is important to keep the cultural context in mind when preparing the curricula for such programs.  For example, more female teachers are needed, as many families will not send their daughters to male teachers.  

It has been recognized more widely that women will only enroll in programs, complete them and retain their literacy skills, if such programs meet specific learning needs, such as in the areas of family planning, saving and credit, maternity and health.  When programs are not geared to the women’s wants or needs, there is a high drop out rate.3 
A regional program should include such an approach.

Greater literacy among women in the region will enhance the role and status of women in the workplace, at home, and in other areas of society.  Literacy and numeracy skills will bring about an improvement in all of these important arenas.   In addition, programs addressing literacy among women and girls will benefit the region’s social and economic development, as women are important parts of our respective nations’ social fabric.

E.	Addressing Illiteracy Among Men

When men are more educated, they are more likely to support education for women.  Thus, it complements the goals to reduce illiteracy among the female population.  Since men are the majority of income producers in the region, reducing illiteracy among men will have positive impacts on the family.

Within the context of countries like Afghanistan where the overall literacy rate is low, there must be a concentrated effort to bring the male population’s literacy up as well.  It is important to identify programs that address male illiteracy and not to target programs and resources in an unbalanced manner.  Otherwise, local populations may misperceive this as foreign cultural interference and not be receptive to programs.
	
III.	DEVELOPING A PLAN OF ACTION TO REDUCE ILLITERACY IN THE REGION

A. Current Plan

The G8 Plan of Support for Reform developed at Sea Island included the following initiatives for Literacy:

* Training teachers in techniques, including on-line learning, that enhance the acquisition of literacy skills among school-aged children, especially girls, and of functional literacy skills among adults;
* Working to train, including through appropriate multilateral institutions, 100,000 teachers by 2009, with a particular focus on high-quality literacy skills;
* Providing teacher training through existing institutions and employing guidelines established in the “Education for All” program administered by UNESCO;
* Setting up and maintaining a regional network for sharing experiences and best practices;
* Expanding and improving education opportunities for girls and women, including by providing assistance to help local communities have access to learning centers and schools;
* Supporting community-based, demand-led adult literacy programs and programs outside the formal education system that couple literacy courses with lessons on health, nutrition, and entrepreneurial skills.
* Involving civil society and communities to participate in the development and administration of literacy and numeracy programs.  This improves access, quality, and retention. Community support increases the participation of women and girls in literacy programs, as well as in formal education settings.  

B. Additional Recommendations

The majority of the initial recommendations in the G8 Plan of Support for Reform include ways to address literacy in the formal sector.  Although this is important, Afghanistan proposes that additional measures be taken, especially to reduce illiteracy in the region’s rural areas, where the formal education system may not yet reach. This would benefit those in most need of literacy programs.  

Another important area of consideration is identifying linkages that can be created between the Literacy Plan and other programs considered for the G8 Plan of Support for Reform.  For example, Section 1.7 contemplates the establishment of a regional “Network of Funds” that would bring together representatives from development institutions in the region and from international financial institutions for the purposes of coordinating better existing programs and resources, supporting through technical assistance regional efforts to build institutional capacity and improve the investment climate and exploring the voluntary pooling of new and existing resources to target financing to SMEs and larger cross-border projects.  Given the large scale of the literacy initiative, Afghanistan recommends that the regional “Network of Funds” also include a special fund for literacy programs and that literacy be considered when assessing the coordination of existing programs and resources.

In addition, the G8 Plan of Support for Reform includes initiatives that address advancing education and technological systems in Section 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.  These components address the themes of infrastructure, software and information technology discussed above.  It is crucial that these components be closely linked with the Literacy Plan.  This will allow for better programming, use of existing resources and evaluation.  

In considering all of the mechanism and structures for planning and programming, it is important that each country be included in the existing structures and programs that are used as guidelines or continuation of programs.  For example, it is not clear whether all countries in the Broader Middle East Initiative are part of the “Education for All” program or UNESCO programs discussed in the initial G8 Plan of Support for Reform.  If not, including them in these programs is important to ensure equity in distribution of resources.

Afghanistan thus proposes the following as points of discussion to begin the process of adding to the current G8 Plan of Reform Initiatives and working towards a Literacy Plan (this is not a comprehensive airing of issues and intended to begin dialogue with the hope that a comprehensive Literacy Plan will be formulated):

Process

* Creating a special fund or focus within “Network of Funds” proposed in G8 Plan of Support for Reform in order to provide resources for implementation of the Literacy Plan and to better coordinate existing resources.

* Determining how funding will be generated to implement the Literacy Plan and related educational initiatives, what benchmarks should be used to assess achievement of goals and how progress will be monitored.4  Incentives for beneficiary countries who reach benchmarks should be considered.

* Deciding how funding will be allocated (Could it be allocated to beneficiary countries to implement national programs?  Who will be responsible for planning and budgeting for regional programs?   How will nongovernmental organizations, the private sector and national governments be included?)

* Choosing a mechanism whereby best practices can be shared.  Are there existing mechanisms to share best practices for other components such as private sector development or democracy initiatives that could be used?

* Discussing what institution should be the focal point for design and implementation of the Literacy Plan.  Without one coordinating body or institution, there will likely be duplication of efforts and waste of resources.5

* Identifying programs that advance educational infrastructure, software and information technology in addition to those identified in Sections 3.1, 3.3 and 3.3. 

* Collecting data on rates of illiteracy in beneficiary countries, using a common definition of illiteracy.  Countries could be grouped into “clusters” based on the data to better target programs to meet development needs and the “Education for All” goals.6 

* Creating a process whereby each country can identify its goals that are applicable to its unique context and can share those goals with the institution that will assist in formulating and coordinating the Literacy Plan.  Feedback from each country can then be used to formulate a clear, articulate strategy to implement common goals and country-specific goals.

* Identifying multilateral institutions, nongovernmental organizations and/or private sector companies to implement the teacher-training component.

* What should be the timeline for step-by-step achievement of the above goals?

Substance

* Integrating literacy programs that apply to non-formal settings and that integrate life skills, especially in rural areas of the region, to the Literacy Plan.

* Including building of new schools and learning centers outside of urban areas in the region.

* Creating incentives for teachers and instructors to teach in rural areas if existing human resources do not exist in those areas.

* Include new methods of teaching in programs to promote creativity and problem solving, rather than just memorization.

* Coupling literacy with numeracy.  Basic math and computational skills are crucial to developing productive members of a society.

* Enhancing language skills that apply in technical, scientific and business arenas.  This can tie-in with other components of the G8 Plan of Support for Reform focused on economic development and job creation.  

* Formation and support of appropriate national centers of excellence, such as a National Center for Literacy.  These national centers would provide master teachers and curricula and would be linked to regional facilities that provide teacher training, development, and support.7  

* Combining vocational and leadership training programs with literacy programs for women.  

* Including components to literacy programs for women such as access to credit, materials, and childcare to reduce barriers of entry for women.

* Creating programs for girls and women who live in areas where formal education is available, but who could not take advantage of those programs.  These can be integrated with life skills and vocational training to provide incentives for individuals in this group to attend.

* Supporting preschool and other programs that teach and enhance reading skills at a young age.  

* Discussing other aspects of reducing illiteracy and increasing education infrastructure, software and technology.

Conclusion

We come together at a time of great opportunity.  There have been notable successes throughout the region.  In Morocco, well-designed educational programs have reduced illiteracy by more than one-half. In Jordan today, literacy rates are approaching 90%.  

 The common vision of our education programs should be to provide good quality education for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, language, religious preference, age or geographical location.  Only in this way can we build the human capital that we need to meet our region’s development, economic and political objectives.
1 	Even in the years preceding the devastating Soviet invasion, there were considerably fewer than one million children enrolled in formal schooling of any kind in the entire country; indeed, before 1970 there were fewer than half a million enrolled.  

2 	In Afghanistan, the Out of School Girls Project (OSGP) run by CARE is providing access to basic education in an accelerated program to 2,541 students in Kabul and Charikar.  Countries with a population of girls who dropped out of school for a variety of reasons could also benefit from such models. 

3 Afghanistan’s enrollment rate for girls in the urban areas has been very promising since 2001. The rural rates are not as promising. The improvement in enrollment has not been matched with improvement in the quality of education. The dropout rate is also quite high for students beyond grade 3.  These lessons learned can be helpful in designing new and innovative approaches for the region to prevent dropouts.
4 	 
5 	The focal point would not be the implementing body, as nongovernmental organizations, the private sector and national governments will be incorporated into implementation.  It will provide the coordination and planning needed to ensure that a Literacy Plan is formulated, integrated with the other components of the G8 Plan of Support for Reform, properly implemented and that monitoring and evaluation are carried out.
6 	It is unclear whether all countries in the Broader Middle East Initiative are included in the “Education for All” campaign. If not, this discrepancy must first be addressed to ensure that all countries receive programming assistance in this area.
7      In Algeria, the establishment of the Iqraa’ Institute to combat illiteracy among the population, especially among women, has been successful.  Centers have been established throughout the country to attract both women and men from rural areas.

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