By Joseph Erunke
The National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult And Non-Formal Education has said non-formal education declined in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The development, according to the commission, created barriers to learning opportunities for children and out-of-school youths, dropouts and non-literate people of all ages in accessing knowledge and life skills to improve their quality of life in programmes such as basic literacy, post-literacy, functional vocational and income-generating activities.
Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, Maryam Umar Khalid, who spoke at a Literacy Roundtable Discussion with the theme: “Literacy Teaching and Learning in the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond” in Abuja, explained that the event was meant for stakeholders to redouble their commitment to spreading education and literacy in the country, given the situation.
Khalid also explained that the event was geared towards strengthening the collaboration amongst all stakeholders in addressing barriers to quality adult and non-formal education at all levels irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She added that the event was designed to reflect and explore, utilizing the power of non- formal education to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
She explained that non-formal education is an alternative opportunity to provide flexible and efficient programme opportunities to reach underserved communities, promote relevant learning outcomes for all categories of learners that are well-suited to the rapidly changing circumstances, such as those surrounding COVID-19.
“There is no doubt that the recent COVID-19 crisis has magnified the existing literacy challenges, deeply affecting schooling and lifelong learning opportunities including that of youth and adults with no or low literacy skills.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic and current high adult literacy rate in the country, the achievement of the SDG target demands critical reflection and re-strategizing at this period.
“It is against this background that the roundtable discussion, themed: “Literacy Teaching and Learning in the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond”, could not be more appropriate to fit the current happenings in our world today.
The crisis has given educators time to rethink on the adult and non-formal education subsector. Indeed, technology has stepped into the breach and will continue to play a key role in educating future generations,” she said.
Khalid reiterated the commission’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 4 of “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
“We are not deterred by the COVID-19 crisis as we are committed to the delivery of quality literacy programmes to all our target groups.
“To this extent, despite the challenges of low political will to the subsector at all levels, a lot of milestones have been recorded within the limited resources,” she said.
She explained that with the advent of COVID-19 crisis, the flagship programme of the Commission which is ‘Literacy by Radio’, was resuscitated and some NGOs were supported with primers, facilitators guide, payment of airtime, facilitators’ stipends for three months and radio sets including memory cards for storage of recorded lessons.
“Similarly, in order to complement the above strides, the Commission is in the process for the finalization of follow up reading materials which is aimed towards enhancing the reading and comprehension skills of neo-literates as well as form a solid base for continuing education as a bedrock for lifelong learning,” she added.
Khalid said in ensuring inclusive education, the commission carried out a study on Persons With Disabilities, PWDs, explaining that “the aim is to fill in the gap and provide a deeper contextual understanding of the barriers that PWDs encounter in accessing mass literacy, adult and non-formal education in Nigeria.
“The report is now ready for dissemination to relevant stakeholders” she disclosed.
Vanguard News Nigeria
