From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:ZIMBABWE: WAR AGAINST ILLITERACY REMAINS A SOCIAL CHALLENGE
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 02:02:36 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Third World Dvpmnt
Title: ZIMBABWE: WAR AGAINST ILLITERACY REMAINS A SOCIAL CHALLENGE


an inter press service feature

by lamec kili

harare, nov 2 (ips) -- one of the social challenges facing
zimbabwe is how to bring down the number of illiterate adults.

at independence from britain apr. 18, 1980, zimbabwe
inherited 2.8 million illiterates from 15 years of age,
according to the central statistical office (cso) here.

zimbabwe, with a population of about 11 million, last carried
out a nationwide survey of literacy in 1990 and the cso is still
processing the data.

concerned about the high illiteracy rate, the independent
government began literacy work in 1982 and the following year
launched a national literacy campaign.

leading the campaign is the adult literacy organisation of
zimbabwe (aloz). the organisation has since trained about 1,000
tutors for organisations wishing to open literacy clsses for
their employees, says aloz director masimba vengesa.

over the past 12 years, 17,876 learners have completed the
course. about 120,000 zimbabweans are currently in literacy
classes -- mostly in the rural areas where more than 70
percent of the people live.

over the same period, 126,000 literacy books were produced
and given freely to learners, says vengesa.

''literacy enables them to enrich their knowledge of a wide
range of topics such as health and politics'', he told ips.

the aloz director says rural mothers have improved their
childcare knowledge after attending the classes. ''literacy
skills enable them improve their living conditions'', he adds.

the president of zimbabwe farmers' union (zfu), gary
magazire, says most of the more than one million small-scale
communal farmers in zimbabwe are illiterate.

this, points out magazire, prevents them from understanding
written information about proper farming ways such as the use of
crop chemicals.

''unless one is literate, there is a danger of messing up
such things'', says magazire. (more/ips)


zimbabwe: war (2)

to redress the situation, the zfu five years ago introduced
literacy classes to the farmers. there are now 60,000 learners
in six of the countrys eight provinces.

the crop output per ha among the literate is generally 60
percent higher than the output of the illiterate, magazire
points out.

the union plans to launch a farming magazine next year to
help teach farmers modern farming skills.

''we are now attaching greater importance to literacy'',
says magazire.

lyons brooke bond is a food processing firm in harare, the
capital. until 1988, 250 members of its 1,500 workforce were
illiterate.

the firm began offering literacy classes to workers who
had no formal education and since then the number of illiterates
has fallen to 27, says brooke bond's training officer jones
chataika.

''their performance at work has improved. productivity has
gone up'' says chataika.

cosmos kuonza, a 30-year worker at brooke bond, was this
year promoted from a general worker to a food mixer after
learning the art of reading and writing.

his monthly pay has risen from the equivalent of 56 u.s.
dollars to 80 u.s. dollars, enabling him to live an easier life.

eighteen workers who started from a literacy level are now
pursuing secondary education, says chataika.

brooke bond spends 100 zimbabwe dollars (20 u.s. dollars) on
education per learner ''to curb ignorance stemming from
illiteracy'', explains chataika.

the government, along with other private organisations in
zimbabwe such as aloz are moving toward that goal, too.
(end/ips/lk/apc/ar/92)