Go to AfricaBib home

Go to AfricaBib home AfricaBib Go to database home

bibliographic database
Line
Previous page New search

The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here

Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The fallacies of literacy campaigns: reflections on the Zimbabwe national literacy campaign
Author:Mpofu, Stanley T.ISNI
Year:1997
Periodical:Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research (ISSN 1013-3445)
Volume:9
Issue:1
Period:March
Pages:18-43
Language:English
Notes:biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:Zimbabwe
Southern Africa
Subjects:literacy
education
adult education
government policy
Abstract:In July 1983 the government of Zimbabwe launched a national literacy campaign that was aimed at eradicating illiteracy within a five-year period. In 1993, the total cumulative enrolment in literacy classes nationwide was only 732,126, barely a third of Zimbabwe's estimated 2.5 million adult illiterates, and only 91,390 of literacy participants had been declared literate. The campaign's failure has been attributed to inadequate financial resources. However, a reexamination of the relevant data suggests that the campaign was undermined by at least three fallacies: in actual fact there has been no real literacy campaign; the campaign was severely handicapped by the government's limited conception of literacy; and 'illiterates' do not necessarily see illiteracy as a problem. The author underscores the need for a 'New Deal' in literacy, based on a new conception of literacy and on the everyday demands of the intended clientele. Bibliogr., sum.
Views