51ST INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY LAUNCHED

By Joyceline Natally Cudjoe

Deputy Minister for Education, Mrs. Barbara Asher Ayisi has urged non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to complement government’s efforts to reduce illiteracy in the country.

Specifically, she said they should help in Information Communication Technology (ICT) education to enable the unlettered in society to also benefit from the fast evolving digital world.

The Minister made the appeal in Accra on Wednesday, at the launch of the 51^st International Literacy Day, which was held under the global theme, “Adult literacy skills development in a digital world.”

It was organised by Engage Now Africa (ENA) an NGO focused on ending poverty in Africa through approaches including education.

Mrs. Ayisi said people who left school before the computer age had challenges dealing with the current digital technology dispensation thus the need to commit resources to ICT education.

She said illiteracy was an agent of poverty which has derailed the developmental agenda of the country, adding that “billions of opportunities are locked up in the face of the illiterate.”

She said the priority of the government was to improve education in the country to reduce poverty and help the uneducated effectively communicate with the rest of the world.

The Country Director of ENA, Mrs. Cecilia Amankwah  said the digital technology was changing the way people lived, worked, learned and socialized and therefore, the adult illiterates should be taught to take part in this global transformation.

“The digital age is with us, permeating every facet of our lives so let us create the enabling environment to allow the less privileged to fully benefit from the opportunities available to all,” she said.

Mrs. Amankwah indicated that ENA was working to bridge the digital disparities among illiterates therefore the telecommunication networks should expedite efforts to spread internet connectivity across the country.

The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mrs. Elizabeth Kwatsoo Tetteh Sackey stressed the importance of education and called for concerted efforts to enhance it.