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Paula E. Pérez

Professor Elizabeth Hanly

IDH 3034

June 12 2019

Which African countries have the highest literacy rates today? Why have their

programs been so successful?

Literacy rates have been used for decades as development indicators across the

globe. Being one of the most fundamental skills taught at school, it serves as a

measurement of education, and correlates closely with many other factors like

economic growth, resilience to corruption, and even personal dignity. Especially

today, where information is everywhere from street signs to cell phone texts to

medication labels, being illiterate means being excluded from what the world is

saying. In Africa, 38% of adults are still illiterate, with numerous countries having an

illiteracy rate of over 50% (Myers). In a continent with over 50 countries, the

challenges of improving literacy can greatly vary, yet we can undeniably say that the

past decades have seen a constant improvement across all countries (Roser, and

Ortiz-Ospina). Africa in particular is the continent where most improvement has taken

place, closing the gap between its people and those of more developed regions

(Roser, and Ortiz-Ospina). In some countries, this can be partly attributed to indirect

factors that have allowed for growth, whether it be their colonial history or political
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events or standard of living in comparison to its neighbours; apart from this, direct

programs aimed at improving literacy have also had varied effects. Beyond the

academic data and research however, it can also be noted from the films watched in

class that the attitude towards education amongst Africans, regardless of their

country, is also overwhelmingly positive, pushing these efforts further. The three

most relevant films to this point are “Keita”, “Yesterday” and “The First Grader”.

Across Africa, the literacy rate ranges from 90.7% in Zimbabwe to 21.8% in

Burkina Faso (The African Economist), making it the only continent with literacy rates

under 30% (UNESCO Office in Dakar), but the number that might be more important

in evaluating successful programs is the rate by which they have improved, which is

the highest in the world as well compared to all other regions. North Africa has seen

the most improvement, with Morocco seeing a 24.6 point increase in youth (15-24

years) literacy rates between 2000 and 2015. A similar conclusion of rapid

improvement can be drawn by comparing literacy rates between the youth and the

elderly; in Algeria, neighbour to Morocco, the population 65 and over has a rate of

only 16%, but in just one generation, we see the youth rate climb to a staggering

92% (Roser, and Ortiz-Ospina). In Northern Africa, there is a stronger influence from

both Europe to the north and Arab countries in the Middle East, which brings many

benefits for business and development that sub-Saharan countries lack (Amrani) and

is also a source of innovation in education from shared best practices, which the very

own UNESCO identifies as a crucial factor in improving literacy (UNESCO Office in

Dakar). Nonetheless, across the whole of Africa there are still great disparities

between different groups; this mainly includes gender disparities, where women

continue to have lower enrolment and higher dropout rates, and between rural and
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urban areas, where rural areas often receive less investment despite being a large

percentage of the continent’s population (Roser, and Ortiz-Ospina). Yet there is only

hope on the horizon; with a population that is still rapidly growing in most countries,

new technologies, and a continuous push for education development by institutions

like the UN and the African Union, Africa is positioned to continue improving and

closing the gap with the rest of the world (Myers).

When we dive down to the ground level, we can leverage the experiences

shared in the three films outlined earlier to understand better the attitudes

surrounding education. In all three, the value of education for children is placed very

highly, although in “Keita” there is conflict regarding what type of education should be

prioritised. Literacy is taught in formal schools, with strong European influence in

education from colonial times, which means it is also stripped of African tradition and,

like many other schools worldwide, even stripped of analytical skills beyond basic

understanding from reading and writing just to get a decent job. This angle portrayed

in “Keita” makes us question the importance of literacy as a measure of quality

education; it is true these indicators have mostly been set by developed and Western

countries, so by prioritising literacy in Africa, one must keep in mind other valuables

learnings may be lost if ignored. Nonetheless, in “Keita” there is still appreciation for

formal education from all parties, and this is even stronger in the two other movies,

“Yesterday” and “The First Grader”. In the latter literacy is in fact of utmost

importance for our main character Maruge, who has received a letter from the

government he wants to read on his own. Knowing how to read and write not only

allows him to connect with something beyond his small town, but it is also a condition

that brings him dignity. Both Maruge and Yesterday see education as the
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fundamental right everyone should have, and both them and everyone else in these

films want to see children thrive by receiving good education. This is the general

attitude we get from all the films and is supporting evidence of the fact that the list of

countries that have seen the greatest increase in youth literacy worldwide “is

dominated by African nations, highlighting the success of programmes across the

continent aimed at improving education and literacy.” (Myers)

In Zimbabwe, the country which in many studies appears to have the highest

literacy rate of the continent, success has mainly come from prioritisation of

education by the government for the past decades. Like several of its neighbours,

Zimbabwe has a history of violent colonisation and over a decade of internal war, yet

it stands out in that education was seen as the most important step in rebuilding the

country in the 80’s when President Mugabe came to power (Mujuru). Mugabe made

education free for all youth, much like what we see in “The First Grader”’s Kenya,

often even up to tertiary education, and ever since, education receives one of the

largest national budget allocations every year (Mujuru). Most of it is focused on

teacher training, which has proven to be a successful approach as many other

developing countries suffer greatly of a lack of teachers, as well as in reaching rural

areas, where most of the population lives (Mujuru). Even parents state that the first

expense they always make sure to cover is educational fees for their children to

ensure they continue learning, and only after do they cover other needs like food

(Sharara). Noticeably, there has also been great interest in closing the gender gap,

which in turn benefits the economy of the country even more (Sharara). In

comparison, Burkina Faso has the lowest literacy rate in Africa; some factors

contributing to this are the lack of investment in education like there is in Zimbabwe,
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with few teachers qualified to teach and poor reach in rural areas. However, it can

also be seen that, up until a few years ago, the educational system still relied on

mainly formal education and curricula that had not been updated to today’s needs.

Gender was also usually ignored in policy making, resulting in improvements not

benefitting women as much as they could. Only recently is the government working

with partners to push forward non-formal education to provide material that is tailored

to the specific needs of the country, such as programs for drop-outs and practical

training instead of theoretical content (Swiss Agency for Development and

Cooperation).

Recurrently, non-formal education appears to be a vital approach to literacy

improvement. This addresses not only the cultural differences between the African

people and the formal education established during most countries’ colonial periods,

but also allows people on non-traditional paths (without basic primary or secondary,

for a variety of reasons) to get back to their learning with more ease. This may

include youth or adults who have dropped out of school due to resources or other

conditions, people who may have disabilities that impede them from being in a

traditional classroom, others who only speak local languages instead of official

languages like English or French, and many other cases (Habou). The UNESCO

claims it is vital to build capacities amongst key resources, such as experts and

government officials, to do this, as well as increase budget allocations towards

literacy and education (UNESCO Office in Dakar).

Another successful approach to improving literacy has been the integration of

technology. South Africa has seen successful adoption of digitized textbooks

(Habou), since they have lower costs and can even be carried on mobile phones.
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Burkina Faso, in its efforts to reform its educational system, is integrating interactive

whiteboards in the classroom to support teachers with a much larger set of resources

(Habou). One last technology that is seeing an incredible boom is mobile-based

learning, where in countries like Côte d’Ivoire it is seeing huge success; it allows for

more flexibility in learning content (both formal and non-formal) as well as in

resources both for students (less costs of transport, uniforms, materials) and the

government (less expenditure on teacher wages, training and infrastructure)

(Vosloo). In fact, these programs are also starting to see a “blurring of the boundaries

between learning, working and living. Mobiles already support skills development in a

range of fields including agriculture and healthcare, and provide paying job

opportunities for mobile-based ‘microwork’.” (Vosloo) In this way, education can

benefit from the exponential increase in mobile phone usage in the continent that is

happening, and also allows for market forces to take over, since not only the

government can implement mobile-based learning, but it has also opened up an

opportunity for startups and businesses to develop apps that can deliver affordable,

quality education.

Lastly, innovation in the vision of literacy and the content being taught can

also lead to success. In terms of the vision, there is a widespread call to focus

education on lifelong learning and practical skills, rather than on theoretical

education only (Habou). This would include also more inclusive and globalised

education to promote peace and respect. The promotion of lifelong learning is to

ensure literacy and other learned skills stay with students beyond their school years,

and to close the large gap between youth and elderly literacy rates in future

generations. This can include good book policies, promotion of national languages
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and facilitation for education beyond youth (Habou); this is a vital point highlighted in

“The First Grader”, where there is a lack of understanding of the importance of

education for older people like Maruge. Curricula should be reformed for this

purpose, and this can be done by bringing in innovation through shared best

practices with other countries and stakeholders, and by doing so through “a

bottoms-up approach based on the needs, realities and aspirations of the African

countries and their communities.” (Habou)

Overall, the films seen in class do line up with the research carried out;

however, the information each provides is from a very different perspective. The films

focus on the day to day experiences of Africans in different countries, and do show

there is a push from both governments and their people to improve education, mainly

for younger children, although they provide limited information on their success or on

other forms of education, such as non-formal or tertiary. We also see little evidence

of gender disparity, which affects most, if not all, African countries. The films do

nonetheless shed some light on challenges reflected in the data, such as lack of

teachers, school resources and general investment, as well as the need for

integration of cultural needs (like language and storytelling in “Keita”) or

non-traditional learners (like Maruge in “The First Grader”). One last challenge

reflected is still the general struggle for many rural families to put their children in

school like Yesterday experienced; many factors from health to wealth can limit a

child’s education, making it extremely difficult for families to prioritise education, like

we see in Zimbabwe, despite its great impact on their futures.

In putting forth efforts to improve literacy and education, it is important to

understand clearly what is succeeding because of the measures implemented, and

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what is succeeding because of other indirect factors, in order to truly pursue

repeatable programs and projects. Many countries have histories comparable to

Zimbabwe’s, yet very few were able to put education as its top priority, even if they

had the desire to do so. Although the causes behind this are complex, there should

be a greater understanding of how Zimbabwe reorganised its budget in order to still

meet other needs (or if it even did), instead of simply preaching for greater allocation

of resources to education. Nonetheless, there are undeniable trends that can be

understood both through research and other more ‘human’ sources like the three

films discussed; these include the pressing need for non-formal education that truly

meets needs specific to each country, instead of attempts to model successful

programs in other countries beyond Africa with very different backgrounds. As seen

in the films and through research, language in particular is a vital aspect of literacy

that can make or break a program; not only is it intrinsically tied to culture and can be

emotionally damaging to deny the importance of local languages, but it is also much

more resource-intensive to attempt to transition whole populations to official

languages instead of creating flexible curricula they can champion with their own

languages.

Where does the issue of literacy stand now? It is definitely moving upwards,

with every single African country seeing improvements year after year. However,

there is still a lot of room for growth, meaning that investment should only be

increased to avoid setbacks. The notion of reframing the vision of literacy is

incredibly important in this case, since all the investment and work we do now must

be created with the goal of lasting for generations, building capacity and creating an

environment of learning instead of returning to zero as generations age. It is vital to

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recognise that many countries still face great challenges in other areas of

development that cannot be neglected, only developed alongside education, and

there are several countries that are currently experiencing crippling violence and

corruption. These are issues that cannot be solved quickly and may still happen in

the future of currently stable countries, yet undoubtedly literacy, in its inclusive form,

can help avoid or alleviate these issues, and help countries move forward.
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Bibliography

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Guardian, 2015,

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/09/north-africa-algeria-black-

africa-shared-history. Accessed 10 June 2019.

Habou, Remy. "Improving Literacy In Africa". Global Partnership For Education,

2017, https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/improving-literacy-africa. Accessed 10

June 2019.

Mujuru, Linda. "Once The Nation’S Pride, Zimbabwe’S Schools Endure Chronic

Setbacks". Global Press Journal, 2018,

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dure-chronic-setbacks/. Accessed 12 June 2019.

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Accessed 10 June 2019.

Roser, Max, and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina. "Literacy". Our World In Data, 2019,

https://ourworldindata.org/literacy. Accessed 10 June 2019.

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. Accessed 11 June 2019.

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Accessed 12 June 2019.

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Accessed 11 June 2019.