Within every developing nation there are expected discrepancies within several sectors of the government, especially areas where education is concerned. Jamaica has proven to be one of these nations with challenges that are decades old and methods of reconciliation have been way past their expiration date. The illiteracy phenomenon seems stagnant with the rates of adult and children having a huge gap. There have been no real solutions to this long overdue problem which also have several implications on the democracy we “preach, but not practice”. Edubirdie, a writing platform posits that “ Democracy without literacy is like a vehicle without wheels. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people. In this system, people drive the government with the potential of literacy.” There is substantial data to serve as evidence that this is not just an individual issue but rather an issue with the system of governance. Have there been any effective methodologies established for educational reforms? According to data provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2015) on the country profile of Jamaica’s literacy rate, more than 161,000 males and close to 74,000 females adults lack basic reading and writing skills, making Jamaica's adult literacy rate to be 88.1 percent. (UNESCO, 2015) Recent data for 2023 have shown that there has not been much increase as the rate now lies at 88.67 percent which is not meritable spanning almost a decade. On the other hand, the children's literacy rate flaunts 94.21% and 98.86% for males and females respectively. The overall youth literacy rate is 96.5%. Youth literacy rate definition covers the population between the ages of 15 to 24 years. (Country Meters, n.d) What may be the probable cause of this we may ask? A feasible explanation would be that as people get older they fail to recall basic reading and writing skills but I implore you this is not the case. The vast difference between literacy rates for adults and children is questionable and so an in depth
analysis is indispensable. To get to the roots of the causes, it is firstly recommended to gather details on the criterias on which the basis of literacy is measured. Former education minister and now prime minister, Honourable Andrew Holness, in his reports on the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) has cautioned Jamaicans that literacy is the critical benchmark for transitioning from primary to the secondary level, and mastery is achieved when a child has fully commanded the three subtests of skills – word recognition, reading comprehension, and writing. (JIS, 2013) Emergent literacy is in the early years before acquiring formal education by caregivers, so if the caregiver lack these basic literacy skills or the knowledge on how to maximize on a child’s ability to recognize words, understanding what is read or even penmanship, then this child will face limitations in basic literacy skills entering into the school system. It now becomes the sole responsibility of the educator to see the signs of these limitations and implement strategies to combat this lacking thereof, but oftentimes these are the children that are overlooked because they may stem from poor socioeconomic background or a high crime affiliated community. The child then progresses where they take the government academic assessments; Grade Three (3) Diagnostic Test, Grade Four Literacy and Numeracy Test and then later the Primary Exit Profile at grade six. They slip through the cracks of the system because there are no uproars of children entering secondary schools without the basic literacy skills. They enter into the non-traditional high schools that are downsized by society and later drop-out becoming products of their environment. These are the same children who become adults who have no idea of their rights and also “sell their votes” to aspiring political leaders, resulting in unfair elections. Although fractures in the education system is a cause of the illiteracy issue, not recognizing the importance of a good education is another contributing factor.
In today’s society, how many of our children really understand the importance of having a quality education? It is a minority of children within the population who misunderstand the concept of education being a vehicle in society but this still remains a concern. Encyclopedia.com posits that social stratification refers to institutionalized inequality, that is, to hierarchically structured social positions (strata) and to the inequality in social rewards received by people who belong to different strata. (encyclopedia.com, 2023) It is education that breaks these rigid class lines and allows equal opportunity for people of all walks of life. These children attend school because they are forced by parents or because it is the norm. As of late 2022 to early 2023, our youths have been observed to be branding themselves as illiterates using the controversial term, “Dunce”. The word dunce is synonymous to stupid or slow at learning and this colloquial term has surfaced as something to be proud of. The influx of teens defaming themselves was a result of prominent dancehall artistes giving life and a positive outlook on being illiterate by entitling songs as “fully dunce” and “dunce cheque” which have a more in depth meaning of being illiterate but still managing to gain a sense of identity and wealth through alternative means. Alexis De Tocqueville, in his theory on democracy, spoke about people becoming atomized, and as such this disregards the aim of democracy as each individual does what makes themselves happy. Despite children not embracing the opportunities that education presents, poverty can also be identified as a major cause of illiteracy. Britannica defines poverty as, “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs.” (Britannica, 2023) Children from these homes are oftentimes undermined and stigmatized as illiterate before even assessment criterias are measured. Coming from a poverty- stricken home means that you may not have all the required materials, if any at
all, for school. The attendance for these children is unstable and so instruction time for them decreases. It will be a matter of time before they are removed from the school system and become the breadwinner for their families. Lottery scamming has become the mere means of obtaining an income for several poverty-stricken families where minority rights have been left decaying. It is the teen in his final years or just about to start high school who is left with the choice of leaving school with no qualifications, or dropping out to be engaged in lottery scamming to buy a car. Is there really an option here? In an article published by the Observer West, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, shared his concerns “When you go in western Jamaica schools and you ask the children, what would you like to become, amazingly they have no pretensions, they put up their hands ‘scammer!’ (Observer West, April 2022) Children's potentials are not maximized and so they find an easier way out rather than acquiring an education and becoming positive social participants. When they see a teacher walking while they are sporting a new car, then they feel successful and literacy is no longer at the forefront of their success. All these issues of illiteracy may affect a proper functioning of democracy by promoting unjust elections, a rise in unlawful activities and tyranny of the majority. The upheaval of unjust elections will arise from political figures using tactical force to get members of the minority to vote in their favour by either “bribery” or stirring up gang violence. The same illiterates who stopped attending school and turned to crime and violence are paid by political leaders to do what they have acquired a skill in, crime. A rise in unlawful activities will develop from this and also other less vigorous crimes such as selling a lie, lottery scamming. Poor people will now be branded as thieves, murderers and illiterates which rules them out of having the right to an education, healthcare, and are only included when elections are near. They are promised
everything other than access to quality education because they are unable to see the importance. Politicians seldomly, sells quality education as a means to get many votes because to them, children do not have the right to vote and adults do not attend school. The entire system of democracy has been provoked by flaring up anti- government citizens and increasing voter apathy. Illiteracy within the nation must be dissolved in order to have a proper functioning democracy. In order to achieve this, then there must be the implementation of literacy coaches or literacy programs in all primary schools, educating parents on the importance of education for their children and accessibility for poverty-stricken families to quality education. In most primary schools there are programmes that are developed with the goal of combating illiteracy at an early stage. These programs include Success For All, Jolly Phonics and Reading Recovery that aims to maximize the required skills of word recognition, reading comprehension and writing. Are these programmes implemented in every primary school? Not all school administrators have taken the initiative to adopt one of these programs and this should become mandated by the Ministry of Education for every primary school. Researchers at Walden University (2016) have presented statistical evidence for an experiment conducted with a primary school in western Jamaica on the effectiveness of the Jolly Phonics program stated that “The study focussed on all students who lacked basic literacy skills; (a) development of phonetic awareness, writing, comprehension, and listening skills; (b) workshops that are stimulating and informative; (c) support from teachers and administrators; and (d) greater focus placed at the lower grades. Overall, the findings indicated that the Jolly Phonics program had a positive impact on struggling readers in Grades 1-3.”(Moodie-Reid, 2016)
Collectively, parents' involvement and accessibility to quality education for poor families goes hand in hand. Using the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education(PATH) to increase parents' involvement in their children’s education is a great booster for promoting literate families, both adults and children. With PATH it is mandated that children attend school on a regular basis for the continuation of disbursement of funds to these families. By implementing another criteria which extends to state that all parents that are beneficiaries of the programme must be present at Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) and development sessions, then more focus will be placed on their child acquiring a good education as they would now understand the importance through interaction with all the stakeholders for education. Additionally, through PATH, poor families should be provided with the required materials for school at these PTA meetings. This will result in children from poor socioeconomic backgrounds having equal access to the resources required to promote literacy. Parents may also have access to literacy sessions through school involvement and PATh which will also reduce the adult illiteracy rate. Concluding, if literacy is not achieved at a higher rate for adults then there will be a reduction in the rates for children. Seeing the mass brain drain within our society will also impact our children as educators are limited which means shorter or less effective instruction time in the classrooms. If immediate actions are not taken by the government then we may see a coup d’etat in the near future. Poverty reduction must be prioritized by making education accessible to everyone at all levels and transforming the outcast view of non-traditional high schools by making the same resources available to all secondary level schools.
Article on Illiteracy 1- Jamaica https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/the-danger-of-a-dunce-backpack/
Article on Illiteracy 2- International https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/literacy-is-a-human-right/
Memes on illiteracy Video on illiteracy