Government plans to embark on a new campaign to encourage more private organisations and individuals to support adult literacy programmes.

The move is in response to a recent decline in the number of adult learners across the country, according to Esperance Muziganyi, the in charge of literacy learning at the Ministry of Education.

There are 4, 706 centres for adult literacy in the country, locally known as Amasomero, run by government, religious denominations, NGOs and individuals.

Figures show that the numbers of students attending these literacy centres have been falling since 2012, dropping from 145,065 in 2012 to 112,656 in 2014.

Muziganyi admitted this represented a major setback considering that country targeted to have at least 182,770 people in literacy centres in the financial year 2014/2015.

The decrease in literacy learners has been linked to the dwindling number of NGOs and progranmmes that support adult education.

Speaking to The New Times in a recent interview, Muziganyi said more people needed to join literacy centres, adding that lessons offered go beyond reading and writing to cover topics such as family planning, financial literacy, AIDS prevention (function literacy).

Muziganyi said the government plans to scale up its support to adult literacy programmes as it bids to ensure a 100 per cent literacy rate among Rwandan adults by 2020.

Prudencienne Mukase, the head of adult teaching at ADEPR Nyarugenge Parish, said despite the declining numbers of adult learners, more people were increasingly getting interested in adult literacy compared to previous years.

ADEPR is one of the faith-based organisations engaged in adult literacy.

‘No body is too old to learn’

"We encourage people to come and learn how to read and write for free and our centres are inclusive and enroll even non-Christians,” she said.

Mukase advised Rwandans to embrace education regardless of their age.

"It is encouraging that some senior citizens are positive about this programme. For instance, we have an old man and woman in one of our centres who are both in their 70s. Nobody is too old to learn,” she explained.

The New Times visited Gakinjiro adult learning centre in Nyarugenge District to speak to a few learners there.

Martha Niyibizi, 67, is one of them. She walks a long distance everyday to learn how to read, write and count, among others.

Niyibizi, who enrolled in March, said nobody should be embarrassed to go to school –formal or otherwise. "Some people say that they find it embarrassing to learn at an advanced age. They forget that what is embarrassing instead is to be illiterate,” she said.

But, like many learning institutions, the literacy centres too have their own challenges.

Mukase listed lack of books, writing boards, teachers among the challenges.

She said the few books they use were mainly provided by UNESCO and appealed to government and other stakeholders to extend support to centres, especially in the form of training materials and motivation to teachers.

"Given their [teachers’] vital contribution in the development of the country, they deserve some incentives such giving them medical insurance cover or giving them bonuses as a motivation and appreciation for their work,” she said.

Ending illiteracy

"If government supported adult teachers properly, illiteracy would have long been eradicated.”

In 2012, literacy rate in the country was estimated at 68.3 per cent.

Muziganyi acknowledged the challenges facing literacy learning centres but said government will soon supply them with books.

"We have embarked on a project with our partners which will see books availed to learning centres,” she said. She said government was committed to ending illiteracy by 2020.

"The Education sector strategic plan aims to achieve 90 per cent of literacy rate by 2017 and a illiteracy-free nation in 2020,” she said.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw