Literacy experts and education stakeholders have called on governments at various levels to reinforce the national core values by deliberate action towards dismantling the idea among the young and old that education is a scam.
The stakeholders made the call during a monitored radio programme in Abeokuta organised by the National Association of Seadogs, Ash Montana Deck, in collaboration with Trafalgar Deck to mark this year’s Literacy Day.
Reflecting on the theme of the day, “Promoting Digital Literacy: Bridging the Gap,” a Counselling Psychologist, Mrs Damilola Onebamhoin and Mr. Emmanuel Kilasho noted that many young and old people in Nigeria were still lagging behing in literacy, especially in this digital era.
They observed that away from the ability to read and write, which used to define basic literacy, technology had altered this definition to include digital ability.
“Anybody, especially the youths who can not perform basic computer operations and purposefully use the applications on mobile phones can no longer be said to be literate in this generation. Or what is the essence of buying a phone that is worth hundreds of thousands only to make and receive calls while the numerous apps are not in use?” Mrs Onebamhoin posed.
“The government must take the initiative to impart digital skills in the youth more seriously than ever before as this is the only ability that connects people to the global arena.” She added.
While praising the Federal Government for reforming the school curriculum and embarking on the enrollment of 500,000 out-of-school children, Mr. Kilasho said the implementation of these initiatives must be properly monitored to ensure the desired positive results.
In their contributions, the Capoons of Ash Montana and Trafalgar decks of the National Association of Seadogs, Messers Ganiyu Omitogun and Solomon Ekuase, blamed the dwindling enrollment of school-age children on poverty and poor funding of the education sector.
According to Mr. Omitogun, “On paper, Ogun State runs a free education policy, but in implementation, there are so many hindrances, including corruption among heads of schools and insincerity of the government.
“The state that used to record 94% enrollment in the 90s, when Sokoto was recording 24%, is now having 21% dropouts.
“There is a need to put the government on its toes to be sincere with the free education policy and to galvanise collective efforts at monitoring the implementation of the policy at the basic schools.
“However, you will agree with me that the government alone cannot shoulder the enormous responsibility of advancing education. It requires the collective efforts of well-meaning Nigerians, reputable NGOs, and responsible societal groups working hand-in-hand with security agencies and other stakeholders.”
On his part, the Trafalgar Capoon, who noted that in Nigeria, statistics had it that 31% of the population were illiterate, warned that if the situation was not resolved the impact on socio-economic progress was a predictable worse security challenge.
“It is my firm belief that the government and indeed all of us must come together to drive literacy in our small ways through literacy campaigns, like the National Association of Seadogs’ Street Kids campaign which advocates for the eradication of child labour depriving them of formal education,” he said.
The United Nations sets aside every September 8 as a day to promote literacy across the world.
