Thursday 10 September 2009

Barbados Minister defends Barbados Literacy record

Author: (YB)

Title: "Our literacy rating in Top 5"

Source: Barbados Nation News

Date Published: September 9, 2009.

URL:
http://www.nationnews.com/story/jones-on-literacy-copy-for-web

Abstract:
Barbados Minister of Education and Human Resources Development, Ronald Jones, boasts that Barbados have the fourth highest literacy rate in the world at a Literacy fair. His comments come despite criticism from various sectors that the literacy rate is falling. In this article, the Minister is quoted speaking of the investment that the Government has been taking in education.

However,the minister makes mention of several areas that he believes could improve literacy in the nation, including transformation of the way reading and writing is taught in schools, as well as the involvement of parents in building the early foundation for literacy.


Excerpt:

BARBADOS has the fourth highest literacy rate in the world.

Mere days after deputy principal of the Erdiston Teachers' Training College, Dr Patricia Saul, suggested the touted 98 per cent literacy rate was a myth, Minister of Education and Human Resources Development Ronald Jones said the country was ranked among the highest in the world.

"In a world where there are still some 776 million adults who are illiterate, and some 75 million children who are out of school, we are proud to say that we have free education from the nursery to tertiary level and our literacy rate is still among the highest in the world - fourth in the world, and that is exceptionally high," Jones said.

Speaking at yesterday's Literacy Fair in Queen's Park, Jones said teachers, principals, parents, students and all those involved in the process needed to be applauded for "keeping us on that edge"
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1 comment:

Unknown said...

No mention of libraries in this article. This gives the impression that Minister is not aware of the roles that libraries play or can play in the development of literacy in the nation.