The Ministry of Education (Mineduc) and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) have vowed to strengthen efforts towards the fight against illiteracy in the country.

The remarks were made yesterday when officials from the two institutions held a one-day-meeting in Kigali.

Erasme Rwanamiza, the Director General of Education and Planning in Mineduc, who officially opened the meeting said: "Illiteracy is one of the factors that leads to abject poverty and poor living standards of the citizens in any society. It’s therefore imperative that you join our efforts in this war”.

He added that illiteracy is an enemy to any development process, calling for the need for all Rwandans and other stakeholders to teach people how to read, write and count.

The official also noted that the cooperation between Mineduc and other stakeholders like ADRA, is a sign of a strong commitment towards eliminating illiteracy.

"One of the objectives of this meeting was to remind those present about the importance and value of having a population that can read, write and count,” he noted.

The Country Director of ADRA, Jefferson Kern, said promoting literacy will help the population easily face community challenges and strengthen their ability to participate in various activities aimed at promoting good governance and democracy.

"Our goal is to increase the adult literacy rate by nine percent by 2015 mainly in the Eastern Province because education is the foundation for human development and a key determinant of social and economic development,” Kern stated.

He said that ADRA has been participating in various developmental activities, especially in the education sector in the country, for more than 30 years.Esperance Muziganyi, an expert in charge of literacy in Mineduc, said illiteracy in the country stood at 34.7 percent in 2006, most of them female.

"Lack of updated statistics regarding illiteracy is one of the key challenges Mineduc is faced with, but we shall work with other concerned institutions to address this,” Muziganyi pledged.

She added that the ministry was in the process of setting up community based libraries aimed at helping the public fight illiteracy in their respective communities.

Anita Mutesi, the Vice Mayor of Kayonza District in charge of social affairs told The New Times that fighting illiteracy is one of the key priorities in their district this year saying that they set a target of teaching at least 10,000 adults.

She said that there are personnel at the sector level who monitor the promotion of literacy in the district on a daily basis.