LIBERATIVE ROLE OF EDUCATION
IN TRANSFORMING SOCIETY
THEMES: FROM THE MDGS TO SDGS: THE CONTRIBUTION
OF HIGHER INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION?
SUB- THEMES: CURRICULUM INNOVATIONS IN AFRICAN
UNIVERSITIES TO ADDRESS THE MDGS.
PROF. JOHN K. CHANG’ACH:
E-MAIL: JKCHANGACH@YAHOO.COM
MR. ANDREW K. KANDIE
E-MAIL: ANDKANKIP@GMAIL.COM
MR. JOHN K. BOIT
E-MAIL: JOEKIBO@YAHOO.COM
INTRODUCTION
Illiteracy is the inability to read or write. "the ineffective educational system meant that illiteracy was widespread“.
Studies show that there is an increasing rate of illiteracy all over the world.
A study conducted by WSI (World Statistics Institute) shows that over 27% of people are illiterate globally.
Another study by WSI shows that the speed at which illiteracy rate ascends is 32%.
These rates are quite important, as illiteracy has terrible effects on society.
The most important effect of illiteracy on society is that, it works as an inhibitor i.e. the more illiterate people there are in
a country, the harder it will be for the country to develop.
E.g. America (whose illiteracy rate is below 5%) and Canada (Illiteracy rate: around 8%) are developed countries, whereas
countries, like Turkey and Iran (Illiteracy rates: 61% and 43% in order) are undeveloped countries.
CONT.
Unlike the developed economies, illiteracy has been a very imminent problem in developing economies threatening
their development.
The cultural set up, economic issues and governance are some of the issues that are strongly connected to
illiteracy level.
An extensive survey of literacy and numeracy in over 15,000 households, the Kenya National Adult Literacy Survey
was conducted in 2006 in Kenya (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2007).
This survey indicated that only 30% of Kenyan adults attained the higher 'desired' levels of literacy. Literacy and
numeracy rates vary significantly by geographic district and by age.
Among Kenyans aged 15 to 29 the literacy rate is above 69%; among those aged 55 or above, the respective rates
are less than 37% and 41%.
CONT.
While Africa is composed of cultural diversity, culture has profound effect on illiteracy . To understand the impact of
illiteracy and its connectedness with the society, we could sample out some cultures across Africa for analysis.
Among the 42 ethnic groups in Kenya, the Kalenjin originally were many different ethnic groups.
There is no one single history for the Kalenjin people. Overall, they are thought to have come to Kenya from Sudan and
their territory is in the Great Rift Valley.
The social structure of a Kalenjin village is based on the "age-set", like other tribes such as the Masai. Rites of passage,
such as initiation and circumcision, take place every seven years.
Young people tend to bond with others in their age-set, though the concept is not as important for Kalenjin who live in
the cities.
In the technologically advanced world that we live in now, there are no good reasons or causes of illiteracy. It is a
problem that should be addressed by all, as lack of reading and writing skills will affect an individual throughout their
lifetime.
It is only through the education of the population that advancements in civilization can occur, and literacy is the first
boundary to cross.
OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this paper was to analyse the role of education in transforming the society and the influence
of culture on illiteracy with examples from Kenya.
Focus:
•
SDG goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
•
SDG goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
CAUSES OF ILLITERACY
The leading causes for illiteracy in the world are learning disabilities, poverty and cultural influences. Determining
why an individual is illiterate will require an investigation into their daily lifestyle, their heritage and their
background.
Neurologically based learning disabilities can account for many cases of illiteracy; considered to be hidden
handicaps because they are not evident by appearance.
A disorder that affects the ability of an individual to interpret what is seen or heard or the ability to associate
information from different areas of the brain, a learning disability is something that is often kept secret by the
individual who endures it.
It is often a condition that remains undiagnosed for several years because the child learns how to disguise the
affects.
CONT’
Generally it is unable to remain hidden by the time the child reaches the second or third grade as this is the time that
major advancements in reading and math are made.
Dealing with these disabilities can be difficult, as it requires specialized one on one teaching method in education to
overcome them; an expense that many school districts are unable or unwilling to bear.
However, these disabilities can certainly be overcome and to do so will allow the child to develop normally from that point
forward into a self-sufficient and productive member of society.
CONT’
There are no definite links between poverty and illiteracy and yet it is often the underlying cause in many
undeveloped countries. Poor communities have meager funds with which can be applied toward teaching
staff, books and materials to educate their children.
Families that are underprivileged lack appropriate clothing, resources for transportation and sources for regular
meals that would enable their children to attend school.
Frequently, children can be found begging for money on city streets; an activity that keeps their families fed but
also keeps the child from becoming educated. This factor leads to the next of the most common causes of
illiteracy; cultural influences.
CONT’
Children learn behaviors from those around them; modeling their own desires and goals from the people with
which they associate.
Parents who with reading culture set a wonderful example for their children.
These parents generally begin reading to their children at a very young age, setting the stage for the eager
development of literacy skills.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, parents with little education and no reading skills of their own will not have
the knowledge to pass on to their young; extending another generation of illiteracy.
CONT’
Finances - It takes money to fund education, but without an educated population, you cannot make money.
Increading poverty causes so many to drop out of school.
Language - Often, speaking a language other than English causes problems in school. And, many times those
children who have increased difficulties in reading and writing drop out of school. This is another one of the
causes of illiteracy.
What many people don’t realize is that learning a second language doesn’t take anything away from cultural ties. In
fact, most people who learn a second language develop the ability to communicate more clearly in their
primary language. There are also more job opportunities for people who are bilingual.
CONT’
Lastly, one of the causes of illiteracy is the failure of parents to take the time to read to their children. The business of
everyday life has reached a point where parents no longer take the time to read bedtime stories to their children or
encourage their children to learn to read at an early age.
1.
Today books have become increasingly replaced by computers and gaming systems. Kids learn to read from being
read to.
2.
Parents’ involvement encourages children to build their own reading skills and kids who have books read to them
comprehend at a much higher level than kids for whom this is not a family routine.
3.
Going to the library to take out a book should be an activity that starts before first grade. No one who is taught the
importance of reading at a pre-school age is going to suffer from illiteracy.
4.
Budgetary constraints due to over population.
CONT’
5.
Lack of education leads to ignorance and ignorance helps to begets more ignorance and helps to spread the
illiteracy husband & in-laws next, they only want their sons to be educated.
6.
Poverty
7.
Poor Government schemes.
8.
Lack of schools in rural areas.
9.
In remote areas, Parents don't send girls to school.
10.
Child marriages.
11.
The biggest of them all; corruption. Politicians deposit the money which is supposed to be spent on schools
in their own account.
Corruption, illiteracy, not educating a girl child, discrimination on the basis of gender, lack of awareness, high
education costs, poverty which can’t afford incentives like books, pens among others, and tax evasion, child
labour is still rampant.
Polygamy, or marriages with more than one wife is allowed in the Kalenjin culture. Many men despite finding paying
more than one bride price being too costly, they proceed to polygamy in the expense of education.
The Kalenjin have a very strong oral story-telling tradition, consisting of stories, proverbs, riddles and songs.
Evenings would often be spent telling stories or singing as a form of both entertainment and education. This
was basically meant for transmission of culture but contributed less to literacy levels in the community.
EFFECTS OF ILLITERACY
Illiteracy has got a kind of "genetic" effect. The children of illiterate people are more likely to be illiterate than those
who aren't.
Even if the parents don't want their children to be illiterate, their children, observing the parents, see that they
somehow manage to live and adopt the idea that illiteracy isn't actually a bad thing. And since people develop
most of their character during childhood, they choose to go with illiteracy.
Another major effect of illiteracy is that, illiterate people rely much on secondary information. This makes them
vulnerable to manipulation & being misinformed.
They do not investigate what was said or told to them. When looked at the pages of history, it can be seen that,
while most uneducated people are slaves, guardians and assistants; people who are educated are mostly
kings, queens and sultans. They are not slaves because they wanted, but because people superior to them -in
terms of education - made them so. (Marxist approach).
All these significant results of illiteracy affect society in a bad way. So, illiteracy rates must be tried to cut down.
CONT’
There was a time in the early days of civilization that the need to read and write was not as vital as it is
today. Smaller populations that were far apart geographically negated the need for this type of
communication.
People fended for themselves in just about every way, and jobs were often simply working at home to scrape
together their own living. Children were needed to work on the farms or in the homes, meaning that education
was deemed not to be important.
As the population grew and technology advanced, people were still able to get by in the world without these skills
since most jobs were manual labor, but the need for reading and writing skills were growing among the general
population. Of course, in today’s world it is virtually impossible to get anywhere in life without these valuable
communication skills.
CONCLUSION
The culture of various communities greatly affect literacy rates in that particular community. There being so many
ethnic groups in the region, cultural diversity is the case & could be a strength if measures are put in place to fight
illiteracy. There are many causes of illiteracy, but every single one of them can be overcome. Some of the ways
include:
•
Government policies to be made to ensure that members of the society are enlightened on issues related with
illiteracy and how it impacts its citizens.
•
Education should be reviewed and made relevant as much as possible.
•
Interaction between the various communities be enhanced – cultural activities.
•
Literacy volunteers - volunteers work across the United States and around the world to open up the world of
reading and writing to those who are illiterate. So, those who are literate could help those who are illiterate.
•
Ensure equity in provision of Education cross all levels, enders and across all regions.
•
Education be tailor-made to incorporate the vast cultural diversity we have in our countries.
•
Develop Capacity for training personnel to handle illiteracy issues.
End of Show
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