ILLITERACY

  •    Meaning.

  •     Causes.

  •   Consequences.

 •     Solution

MEANING OF ILLITERACY

According to the United Nations (U.N), illiteracy is the inability to read and write a simple sentence in any language. Illiteracy is a common social problem in Nigeria. Various administrations through their policies have been fighting it, looking for ways to eradicate it. For instance, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1955 initiated the Universal Primary Education (UPE), making it compulsory for every child in then Western Nigeria, to go through primary education.

 EVALUATION

What is illiteracy?

 CAUSES OF ILLITERACY

1. Poverty: This is a major cause of illiteracy. This is the inability of many families to send their children to school due to lack of funds.

2.  Crave for wealth: To many youths, going to school is a waste of time. They believe that since the essence of education is to make money, they rather go into businesses and learn how to be rich faster.

3.  Loss of breadwinners: Some children could not go to school as a result of the death of the person sponsoring them. Often, most drop out due to lack of funds.

4.  Traditions and values of the society: In some societies like Nigeria, the girl-child is not given much importance compared to the man-child. Hence, she is made not to attend school. Also, some societies see education as a threat to their customs and traditions,

5.  Inconsistent educational policies: Political instabilities cause constant change in educational policies. Some regimes have beautiful plans while others are often non-challenge about it.

EVALUATION

Mention three causes of illiteracy.

 CONSEQUENCES OF ILLITERACY

1.   It breeds an inferiority complex: When the illiterates are in the midst of educated people, they could feel inferior because of the inability to relate well with them.

2   It may lead to complete ignorance: Illiteracy might deny them the opportunity to read vital information about many issues that can positively affect them.

3.    It often breeds poverty and crime: Due to his inability to read and write well, a person might not be able to get a very good job with low pay. When this happens, he often ventures into armed robbery.

4.  It can cause misfortunes: Many illiterates fall into avoidable troubles. Due to their inability to relate effectively, they are often duped of their fortunes in the course of seeking assistance in completing bank documents.

EVALUATION

State three consequences of illiteracy

SOLUTIONS TO ILLITERACY

1.  Free education at all levels.

2.  Mass literacy campaign.

3.  Consistent government policies.

4.  The government should provide more funds to the education sector.

5.    All children should have equal access to education.

6.    The  Government should encourage technical and vocational skills in schools.