By Yinusa Ishola
Omu-Aran – The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has called for the establishment of more adult literacy centres to raise educational standard, especially at the grassroots.
The Agency’s Director of Mobilisation in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara, Mrs Comfort Ajibade, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Omu-Aran in Kwara.
Ajibade also sought the provision of adequate equipment and personnel for the existing adult literacy centres for optimum performance.
“The establishment of more adult literacy centres will help to reduce the level of illiteracy among the people at the grassroots.
“Such intervention will also enhance the easy flow of information and improve the peoples’ understanding of government policies and programmes,’’ she said.
Ajibade said the agency viewed the high level of illiteracy among adults in most communities as “too worrisome’’ and required urgent government attention.
She expressed the need to use education in bridging the information gap between government and the governed in building a sustainable cordial relationship.
Ajibade said that genuine development must be based on balanced education and should be people-oriented.
According to her, no nation can rise above the quality of its education.
“The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals agenda is keen on the development of sustainable, quality education to aid development.
“It is in the light of meeting the target of reducing the level of illiteracy that countries now allocate substantial part of their annual budget to education for them to achieve the SDG target,’’ she said.
Ajibade said the menace of illiteracy, occasioned by inadequate literacy centres, if not properly addressed, could be a stumbling block to government’s rural integration drive, aimed at developing the grassroots.
“The agency, through an in-depth research, realised that most people, especially adults, are now very eager to improve on their educational standard.
“But regrettably, the number of these literacy centres is not adequate to effectively serve the anxious beneficiaries, ‘’she said.
Ajibade said the agency had commenced an advocacy programme aimed at sensitising the people on the need to improve their literacy standard.
“The objective is for the people to contribute their quota to the country’s development.
“The advocacies which were held in churches, mosques and markets had started yielding positive results.
“The advocacy has become the magic wand that has continued to arouse the interest of the people to improve on their educational standard for the better,’’ she said.
