It's not even about going to school or getting a degree. With 65 million Nigerians illiterate, it is time for government, schools and individuals to take action. UNESCO’s National Programme Advisor on Education, Dr Mohammed Alkali recently revealed the results of a UNESCO survey that showed that despite improvements to the country’s education system, 65 million Nigerians remain illiterate.
This statistic is alarming for a number of reasons. Illiteracy has adverse impacts at both an individual and societal level. People who are illiterate are far more likely to live in poverty, facing a lifetime marred by poor health and social vulnerability. Economically, the impacts of illiteracy are also sizeable; workplace productivity, unemployment rates and even national GDP are all affected by a country’s literacy levels.
With Nigeria’s illiteracy rate standing at just over 50 percent, it is a matter of national urgency that we work to redress our literacy crisis. How can make real changes that have a measureable and tangible impact on Nigerian learners?
