Good Practices in Literacy and NFE Programmes - Literacyportal.net

1 Introduction & Background to the Study1.1 The ContextUNESCO Islamabad is supporting a literacy project titled: “Capacity Building for Improving theQuality and Scope of Literacy Programmes in Pakistan”, which aims to improve the nationalcapacity to implement literacy programmes, focusing on poverty reduction and the empowermentof women. It was launched by the Ministry of Education, under its “Literacy Initiative ForEmpowerment (LIFE)” initiative, in 2006.1.2 Aims & ObjectivesOne of the activities of this project is to produce an advocacy booklet on innovative andsuccessful literacy approaches and practices that lead to the sustainable development of literacyprogrammes at national, sub-regional and regional levels. It aims to be a useful source ofinformation for policymakers and literacy practitioners for capacity-building and generation oflessons learned from the experiences of other countries; and to disseminate successful andinnovative practices in literacy and NFE from the Asia-Pacific region.1.3 Methodology & Selection Criteria for CLC Programmes & CountriesThe CLC programmes for assessment have been selected from fifteen countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. In total, twenty case studies (fourteen from various countries of the region and sixfrom Pakistan, one from each province), have been included in the study. The countries includedrepresent different regions and sub-regions, with different socio-economic development levelsand a wide variation in their literacy rates.Table 1, below, highlights the main characteristics of the selected countries.Table 1: General Characteristics of the 15 Countries Represented by the Case StudiesCountries Population Size2005/2006Avg. Annual Pop.Growth Rate (%)GDP AnnualGrowth (%)Literacy Rate age15 + % /yearBangladesh 144.3 million 1.8 (2006) 6.7 (2006) 47.5 (2000)Bhutan 647 thousands 1.6 (2006) 7.8 (2006) 59.5 (2005)China (PRC) 1.3 billion 0.6 (2006) 10.7 (2006) 90.9 (2000)India 1.1 billion 1.6 (2006) 8.4 (2006) Male 73.4 (2004)Female 47.8Indonesia 223 million 1.1 (2006) 5.5 (2006) 99.00 (2005)Iran 69.2 million 0.9 (2006) 5.8 (2006) 89.00 (2006)Kazakhstan 15.1 million (2005) 0.9 (2005) 9.7 (2006) 99.5 (2000)Maldives 337 thousands 2.3 (2006) 18.7 (2006) 96.3 (2000)Myanmar 51 million 0.9 (2006) 5.00 (2005) 89.9 (2000)Nepal 27.7 million 1.9 (2006) 1.9 (2006) 48.6 (2000)Pakistan 159 million 2.1 (2006) 6.2 (2006) 54.00 (2007)Sri Lanka 19.8 million 0.7 (2006) 7.4 (2006) 90.7 (2000)Thailand 64.7 million 0.8 (2006) 5.00 (2006) 92.6 (2000)Uzbekistan 26593 thousands 1.7 (2005) 2.4 (2004) 97.00 (2004)Vietnam 84.1 million 1.2 (2006) 8.2 (2006) 90.3 (2000)Source: World Development Indicators Database, April 2007Two types of programmes have been covered in this study: (i) those launched by governments; and(ii) programmes launched by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).9