AMMAN —
Illiteracy dropped to 5
percent in Jordan by the end of 2020, according to Ahmad Al-Masafa, official spokesman
of the Ministry of Education, a low figure compared to those of other Arab
countries.
اضافة اعلان
“We are looking forward for it to
reach 0 percent in the near future, especially that his Majesty
King Abdullah attaches great importance to the education sector,” Masafa told
Jordan News.
In the scholastic year 2020/2021,
147 literacy centers were opened, “127 for females and 20 for males”; 1,721 individuals
enrolled in them, 1,405 females and 316 males.
Masafa said that the ministry equips
these centers with everything they might need to facilitate teaching.
“We give them stationery and pay the
salaries of teachers. Students do not pay (anything). All they have to do is
come and learn,” he said.
One of the main factors that
contributed to the significant drop in illiteracy is that “primary education is
compulsory and we consider this decision as a preventive measure that helps avoid
an increase in illiteracy”.
What also helps is the “follow-up on
student affairs by cadres of the
Ministry of Education, and recording the
attendance and absence of each and every student.”
“Students cannot skip school because
they know that the concerned entities would notice their absence, and
therefore, they are afraid of the consequences,” which entail after-school
detention and expelling from school.
Director of the Department of
Education at the Ministry of Education Nabeel Hanaqta told
Jordan News that the literacy programs initiated by the ministry aim to eliminate illiteracy.
“Anyone who
is older than 15 can join this free program; after a four years course, the
attendees graduate as grade-three students,” he said.
According to
Hanaqta, the ministry targets people who cannot read or write, urging them to
join the free program.
“We had
people who were 50 years old when they decided to enroll in that program,” he
said, adding: “I can say that what we achieved in the last years toward
eradicating illiteracy is something to be proud of; illiteracy had reached 80
percent in 1952, and now it is just 5 percent. I believe that in the upcoming
years the percentage will keep on dropping till it reaches zero percent.”
He also said
that nowadays people are illiterate when it comes to technology.
“Illiteracy in
reading and writing is not a problem anymore among those who work in the
education sector, especially that people are aware nowadays of the importance
of education. Our plan for the near future is to eradicate illiteracy in
technology,” Hanaqta said.
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