Only sustainable literacy can be helpful

Since 2009, the literacy rate in Bangladesh has increased by around 20 per cent and the government aims to secure cent percent literacy by the year 2030 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) announced by the United Nations. The current literacy rate in Bangladesh stands at 75.6 per cent among people aged 15 years and above. But educationists and experts in the field do not find the increase in the literacy index meaningful because many people here who have otherwise learned to read and write do not have skills and competence. This means their qualification as literate persons have added little value to their lives.
The quality of their literacy is very poor. According to UNESCO, literacy means ability to read, understand, interpret orally and in writing, communicate and calculate in the mother tongue. But in Bangladesh, a person with the ability of just reading and writing his or her name is counted as literate.
Therefore, while eradicating illiteracy from the country, it is necessary to look into whether people are getting truly literate. For achieving this, it is necessary to take the right kind of policy. When we say this, we know that the country’s education system is beset with multiple problems due to poor management, inadequate fund allocation and corruption of the people involved in the sector. Although education has been considered a priority sector since 1991, successive governments in the country did not allocate necessary funds for the education sector.
Though Bangladesh has overcome, to a great extent, gender-based discrimination regarding children’s education, the sector is plagued with the lack of competent teachers as well as unavailability of education facilities including standard schools in many remote areas in the country.
Due to the last two years’ Covid-19 pandemic, as elsewhere in the world, Bangladesh also suffered a huge setback as educational institutions remained closed. At this time, not only the dropout of the girl students took place and they were given off to marriage, but many boys of poor families also left schools and joined the workforce to support their families.
To eradicate illiteracy from the country, the relevant policy makers must keep in mind that merely achieving literacy in terms of figures will not be helpful if a person’s literacy does not help him to lead a quality life and advance.