A survey carried out in the Western Province on adults shows that only 9 per cent of illiterate adults have attended literacy course even as 31 per cent lack essential literacy capabilities.
The research was jointly conducted by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR)-Rwanda, University of Rwanda’s College of Education, and the University of Aberdeen with the support of the Scottish government.
The survey was conducted on a sample of 2,391 respondents with over 300 respondents from each district of Western Province.
Out of 9 per cent of the adults who attended a literacy course, only 14 per cent gained skills they expected to gain while 66 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively, still can’t read and write Kinyarwanda, according to the report.
The survey further shows that 93 per cent cannot do simple calculations while 99 per cent cannot send or read a text message on a mobile phone.
The survey further indicates that at 36 per cent, women were found to be more literate than men who have a literacy rate of 27 per cent.
The findings suggest that those who are illiterate are more likely to be poorer than the literate who have higher chances of getting employment opportunities.
The survey highlights that an illiterate adult is often excluded from leadership positions.
The study supplements the Fifth Integrated Household Living Survey (EICV5), which found that nearly a third of adults cannot read and write a simple message and do basic arithmetic.
Researchers say that little progress was being made in reducing the proportion of adults that struggle with literacy. The proportion of adults who don’t have literacy skills across the country dropped from 37 per cent in 2005 to 32 per cent in 2017, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda.
"The research shows that there is still need for further improvement in helping adults to get literacy capabilities. Having a big number of the population which cannot read and write is a burden that hampers their welfare,” said Eugenia Kayitesi, the Executive Director, IPAR-Rwanda.
Solutions
The study recommends every village to elect a community adult education tutor who would be trained so as to encourage adults to attend education at literacy centers.
It also calls for increased funding to establish more primary school classrooms to serve as resource centres for delivering adult education.
Prof. Wenceslas Nzabarirwa, a Lecturer at the University of Rwanda’s College of Education who is also the academic leader of the project to train teachers on providing adult literacy, said that the new approach – which is termed as Social Practices Approach to Adult Literacies adopted from Scotland – will stimulate change in society.
"They (adults) will also gain financial literacies and learn how to start and run enterprises, hygiene literacies, literacies related to fighting malnutrition among others,” he said.
Under the £1.2 million project, dubbed, "Fostering a social practices approach to adult literacies for improving people’s quality of life in Western Rwanda”, to be implemented over a period of four years and a half, new measures are being implemented in the districts of Karongi, Rusizi and Rubavu in Western Province.
"We had planned to teach 3,000 adults but we might revise the budget and increase the number of beneficiaries. We have trained 600 adults so far. We teach them based on their needs in their respective villages,” he said.
Among the challenges to providing literacy skills to the adults include inadequate classrooms and lack of learning and teaching materials, limited financial resources to motivate tutors, different levels of learners as well as a high rate of dropout due to poverty.
According to Espérance Muziganyi, the in-charge of Adult Education at the Ministry of Education, there are nearly two million Rwandan adults that struggle with literacy capabilities.
"Currently 73 per cent of adults from 15-year-olds have the required literacies. With the new approach, we will reduce the number of illiterate adults,” she said.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com