No other disease in the world has proven capable of the amount of wreck illiteracy promises. What causes people to be illiterate can be a way into getting what solution scholars could begin with. Illiteracy, they say, is a disease. I say, a deadly one at that.
This is because it is not a type of this is that only stays in the human body system, it is that kind of disease that spreads out like perspectives, opinions, and thoughts that fuel dangerous actions. It then by implication affects relationships, communities, and other cogent functions of the society. At the end of it all, hell will have a point to prove for its appearance.
Illiteracy is generally considered to speak about people who are either uneducated, unable to read and write, or who can read and write, but are considered to be below the level of ability that is functional within any particular society. The inability to read or write was not in itself detrimental to achievement, but in an increasingly technological society illiteracy usually limits employment and advancement.
What causes people to become illiterate after all? According to David Crystal, A democratic society and a free press presuppose high general literacy levels. There are now more diverse and complex kinds of matter to read, and people are obliged to read more if they want to get on.
People who had achieved a basic literacy are thus in real danger of being classed as illiterate, as they fail to cope with the modern everyday demands of such areas as the media, business, bureaucracy, and the law. As a result of literate society continually ‘raising the ante’, therefore, the illiteracy figures rise, and the gap between the more and the less developed countries becomes ever wider.
Read Also: 5 Ways Illiteracy Can Affect Democracy
Even in the midst of these various opportunities that can make anyone wriggle themselves out of the straining fist of illiteracy, there is no reason why traces of a bottleneck such as an illiterate could be amongst us. But then we find ourselves back to the question: What causes people to be illiterate?
Poverty
One of the very barricade on the way to achieving the number one UNESCO goal of formally educating the whole world, and of course the spring-door to what causes people to be illiterate is the issue of poor financing or shall we just call it for what it is, Poverty!
Poverty has no doubt relegated the dreams of so many children to just the village life just because of the inability to get education let alone the quality one. So many homes that are poor have not been able to secure any sponsor by the government for their children to go to school. Even government-owned schools are poorly dispensing because of lack of adequate finance to upgrade academic facilities.
Limited Access to Formality Education
Not all kids have the opportunity to attend formal school. In addition to poverty, additional societal issues and parents’ professional obligations make it difficult for their kids to obtain education. Children of fishermen and nomads who travel from place to place are not given the chance to attend school.
Government initiatives to establish Nomadic education programs and other special schools have not much improved the problem. This is because learning and teaching both need for a certain level of comfort on the part of the teacher and the student. There are places in the nation where the location makes it nearly impossible to get to school, such the riverine and hilly regions.
Wrong Cultural or Religious Attitude
Some societies do not value education. This is true for typical agricultural and farming regions. They mock the educated class, portraying them as slackers incapable of working the land to feed their families and meet their basic necessities. Successful illiterate parents frequently believe that sending kids to school is a waste of time and money. Therefore, such parents do not see the sense in rejecting government initiatives to enhance and fund education.
Inadequate Government Facilities
The government provides substandard educational infrastructure. There aren’t enough classrooms, desks, and chairs in certain schools. Under the sun and the rain, children learn in open, unfriendly environments. Government doesn’t take teacher’s wellbeing seriously.
As a result, instructors frequently go on strike, which throws off the school schedule and wastes the time of the students and teachers. These elements undermine education and worsen the illiteracy issue.
Poor Implementation of Government Policy
While most government policies are admirable, their execution is sometimes inconsistent and rigid. Even if the population find the policy of free and affordable education appealing, it has not proven to be reliable or consistent. Government education initiatives are typically transient or temporary. The current Universal Basic Education (UBE), the 6334 system of education in Nigeria, and Universal Primary Education (UPE) are sincere attempts to reduce illiteracy.
However, because of ineffective planning and management techniques, their implementation has consistently failed. This is not a motivator for learning. Furthermore, the majority of graduates from higher education institutions and new graduates are unemployed. This discourages other individuals from enrolling in educational institutions.
