‘Adult literacy programme facing challenges’
Government’s failure to motivate adult literacy instructors and low patronage have been mentioned as key challenges affecting adult literacy programme in the country.
Currently, adult literacy instructors get K1 000 per month, according to Nkhotakota chief community development officer Aubert Mkwawira.
The observation was made on Friday at Liwaladzi Primary School in Nkhotakota during the graduation of 680 adult learners from 84 centres.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the ceremony, Mkwawira said government has come up with a number of interventions aimed at motivating its instructors.
“We are registering some progress towards promoting adult literacy. Unfortunately, it is a little bit difficult to measure it due to a number of reasons,” he said.
Nkhotakota North East member of Parliament Martha Lunji (Democratic Progressive Party-DPP) said she will lobby for an adjustment in the instructors’ honorarium during the next session of Parliament.
United Purpose district coordinator Geoffrey Nkata, whose organisation partnered the district community development office in sponsoring the training, expressed satisfaction with the programme.
“We are implementing a sugar capacity project here in Dwangwa and Chikwawa. So, in the course of implementing the project, we found that most farmers were not able to do simple mathematics.
“Therefore, we decided to partner with the district community development officer to come up with adult literacy lessons,” he said. n
