From The Press: Only 8% Of Lagos Residents Are Illiterates.

The Director General of the Lagos State Agency for MassEducation, Benedict Adebisi has disclosed that 92% of inhabitants of Lagos are literate.

Adebisi while disclosing this in Lagos, said the statistics obtained from a recent survey by the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education shows that no fewer than 17, 447, 905 inhabitants of the metropolis, which has an approximate population of 18, 965, 114 people, are literate.

He said the figure represents 92 percent of the population, compared to 1,517,209 illiterate people, representing 8 percent.

Adebisi said that compared to most other states of the federation, the literacy rate in Lagos were impressive.

“The state has been able to achieve this low illiteracy rate owing to the commitment of the government and the promotion of education among the illiterate population in the past 10 years,” he said.

The director explained that the feat was achieved through the establishment of many literacy centers in the metropolis to widen access and provide appropriate literacy materials.

“No fewer than 401,000 new literate people have been produced in the state within the period,” Mr. Adebisi said.

He reiterated the commitment of the state to attaining and even surpassing the UN Education for All target of 50 percent reduction in illiteracy rate by 2015.

To achieve this and even attain zero illiteracy by the target year, the director said that the agency had evolved strategies to produce no fewer than 3000 new literate people in each of the 57 local council development areas of the state.

“This is on the proviso that there is no influx of illiterate population into the state from the other states of the federation,” he said.

Adebisi said that to actualize the target, the agency is collaborating with religious organizations, NGOs, and community-based organizations to deliver adult education to learners.

The director, however, said that the agency was handicapped by inadequate funding, as well as logistics. He explained that the agency lacked such facilities as boats, life jackets, and vehicles that could enable the agency to penetrate the mainly illiterate rural and coastal areas of the state.

He commended the federal government for the timely release of funds to aid the agency’s work, and implored the Lagos State government to increase its funding of the agency.

culled from lagosindicatoronline.com