Abstract
<p>Literacy is perhaps the most fundamental skill required for effective participation in education (formal and non-formal) for national development. At the same time, the choice of language for literacy is a complex issue in multilingual societies like Nigeria. This paper examines the issues involved, namely language policy, language and teacher development, and the role of distance education and information and communication technologies (ICTs), in making literacy accessible in as many languages as possible. Two distance learning literacy projects are presented as case studies and the lessons learned are discussed. The findings of this study suggest that although there is evidence of growing accessibility to ICTs like mobile phones, their use and success to increase access to literacy in the users’ languages are yet to be attained and maximised. The implication of the lessons learned should be relevant to other multilingual nations that seek the goal of increasing access to learning and promoting development so as to harvest economic benefits.</p>
Highlights
The role of literacy in the development of a nation cannot be overemphasised
The success recorded in the Indian experience, such that literacy rates improved by 65%, is attributed in part to the careful selection of the language used and the careful preparation of teaching-learning materials so that content was relevant to the learners and contained illustrations, exercises, and self-evaluation at the end of each unit (Rao, 2007)
The aim of this paper was to examine the issues associated with promoting literacy for development amidst a linguistically diverse society like Nigeria and the contributions of distance learning using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to achieve this goal
Summary
The role of literacy in the development of a nation cannot be overemphasised. As a basic human right and index for human development, literacy is at the core of UNESCO’s Education for All (EFA) initiative. Definitions of literacy have broadened over the years to include a wide range of skills, the basic skills of reading and writing remain at the core of any definition of literacy, while numeracy skills are viewed as supplementary These definitions do not specify language of literacy, thereby leaving the decision to individual countries. McCaffery et al (2007) offer a layered view of literacy comprising skills, tasks, practices, and critical reflection, and emphasis could be on any layer depending on the purpose: Literacy is rooted in the skills of reading and writing These skills are used by individuals to accomplish tasks in their daily lives. The percentage given in this study is the percentage for the literate population in Nigeria as reported by UNICEF (2009), and it is based on school enrolment figures with English as the language of education.
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