Illiteracy in Asia                                                                                                                

 

Background Information                                                                                                          

 

    “We cannot in all conscience abandon millions of adults and young people to a fate of lifelong illiteracy,” said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, “This is unacceptable in the 21st century.”

 

While the overall number of adult illiterates in South and West Asia increased between 1970 and 2000-2004, the overall number of adult illiterates in East Asia and the Pacific decreased.

 

Adult Literacy rate 2000-2004

 

Illiteracy is directly related to poverty and underdevelopment, circumstances that force millions of children to leave school before they become fully literate and work in conditions where they are easily exploited.

 

Highest illiteracy rates in the world were found in less developed nations such as African, Asia and South America.

 

 

Asia has the highest illiteracy rate.

 

Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan. In these countries more than half of the population is illiterate.

 

 

Illiteracy comparison

 

US 1% VS Bangladesh 57.4%

 

 

860 million illiterate adult world wide Equals more that 2/3 women world wide

 

 

Minors not attending school exceed 110 million -> 56% girls

 

 

World wide illiteracy is getting better and in Asia, East Asia and the Pacific’s Illiteracy decreased. (China, Japan)

 

BUT,

 

South and West Asia increased and are still under pressure. (Pakistan, Bangladsh)

 

 

Asian countries that has highest illiteracy rates.

 

Bangladesh: 57.4%

 

Nepal: 51.4%

 

Pakistan: 50.1%

 

Papua New Guinea: 42.7%

 

India: 39%

 

According to the UN agency's own data there are 860 million illiterate adults, more than two thirds women worldwide. The number of minors not attending school exceeds 110 million, 56 percent girls.

 

 

The highest illiteracy rates in the world were found in less developed nations such as Africa, Asia, and South America. The lowest illiteracy rates were found in Australia, Japan, North Korea, and the most technically advanced nations of Europe and North America. In fact the United States and Canada have an overall illiteracy rate of only about 1%.

 

 

Illiteracy Cycle

 

Poverty + Underdevelopment => No school => Illiterate => Underdevelopment / unemployed => poverty => No school => Illiterate…

 

 

 

The highest illiteracy rates in the world were found in less developed nations such as Africa, Asia, and South America. The lowest illiteracy rates were found in Australia, Japan, Korea, and the most technically advanced nations of Europe and North America. In fact the United States and Canada have an Overall Illiteracy of only about 1%.

 

The United Nations Defines illiteracy as the inability to read and write a simple Message in any language.

 

Literacy is a basic of all human rights. Literacy is directly connected to communication. Reading, writing and speaking is one of a ways to communicate effectively and for people to become more civilized is through better communication. Humans are communicating animal. Humans are enabling to express their feelings through language and gesture. Also, through communication people understand each other and share ideas to broaden their knowledge. If one is illiterate, they have lost a tool that distinguishes human from other animals. If people are illiterate it just can’t make that country like more civilized and advanced.

 

Because many of the third world countries are in Asia and many of Asian countries have numerous number of dialects of one language. It is even more important for Asian countries to be aware of literacy because they can grow stronger economically and educationally.

 

 

IN FACT, when most of us, our children take school buses to go to school, complain about waking up early in the morning, whining about homework, SOME Children have to wake up very early in the morning, climbing mountains or swimming or sailing boat across the rivers or walking miles to get to the school. In Nepal, kids have to climb Himalayan Mountains to go to the school. In China and Phillipines kids have to sail their big bowl-like baskets to cross the river to their school.

 

 

 

As the diagram above shows, a low literacy rate can lead to economic, social and political problems for any countries government and people. Education is a basic necessity for development and can help a nation respond effectively in al cases including a natural disaster or war. If something is not done to educate future generations, the entire Asian region may enter a downward spiral that might even lead to a state of entrapment.

 

 

The United Nation conducted a number of surveys on world illiteracy.

 

In the first survey conducted in 1950 and published in 1957 concluded that at least 44% of the world’s population was found to be illiterate.

 

In 1978 their study showed that the rate dropped to 32.5%.

 

By 1990 illiteracy worldwide had dropped to about 27%, and by 1998 it was 16%

 

However, a study by the united nation children’s fund (UNICEF) published in 1998 predicted that the world illiteracy rate would increase in the 21^st century because only one0fourth of the children of the world were in receiving any form of education by the end of the 20^th century.

 

 

To solve this unacceptable growing Illiteracy in Asia, we should not just be aware of it but to consciously help those illiterate people by possibly donating books. Most of us have had privilege of reading, learning and living in a environment surrounded by abundance of books available. Since most of us have lived in such book Accessible environment, we have never imagined and realized that there are people in such harsh environments that its impossible to attend school or who have never been to school, read a book or even learn to write. This might be hard to understand for many of us but try putting yourself in their shoes, in their perspectives in their life. We should appreciate the conditions that we are available of. I’m sure that many of us have books that’s been sitting at the corner of bookshelf not read in ages. If it’s not going to be read anymore, instead of throwing it away or leaving it as tool to fill bookshelf, WHY NOT Donate it for useful purpose, Help people who need them. Fairy tale story books, textbooks to novels or even any type of learning means like alphabet posters. Donate them for reasons.