International Literacy Day (ILD) fell on 8 September. Founded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1966, ILD was created to “remind the public of the prominence of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights”. This year, this special day was celebrated under the theme “Literacy for a human-centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide”.
It is no revelation that the Covid-19 crisis has disrupted the education and learning of children, young adults, and adults around the world on an overwhelming scale. The pandemic has also exaggerated the pre-existing inequalities in access to learning opportunities, affecting over 773 million non-literate young people and adults in the world. The rapid shift to distance learning in response to the pandemic has further glossed over the tenacious digital divide, with connectivity, infrastructure, and the ability to interact and engage with technology, limiting learning options for most children and adults.
With it becoming quite apparent that access to literacy learning opportunities is not evenly distributed, especially in countries like Sri Lanka, it has become the focus of governments around the world to make allocations for technological advancements and technological availability to all.
Against the backdrop of ILD, Brunch reached out to National Institute of Education Director General Dr. Sunil Navaratne to discuss literacy in Sri Lanka. As of 2018, Sri Lanka’s literacy rate was 91.71% – a 0.19% decline from 2017, but still a very high literacy rate for a developing country.
Speaking to Brunch, Dr. Navaratne said: “Traditionally, learning programmes, especially the primary education system in Sri Lanka, was concentrating on reading and writing literacy. However, with the rapid advancement of technology, the introduction of new technology-based jobs, and the dire need for distance learning due to the current situation, technological literacy has now become imperative. Financial literacy, technical literacy, media literacy, and art literacy are also becoming increasingly important. It is important to equip children with all of these skills in order for them to be ready to take on the world in the future. While steps have been taken to include these aspects into the curriculum, there are many new ideas on the backburner when it comes to the advancement of learning skills of primary school students.”
On improving literacy rates, Dr. Navaratne shared that presently, the major focus is still on reading and writing literacy skills. However, there are many distant learning procedures put in place for students to stay motivated, continue learning, and polish their skills while staying safe at home and staying in line with the UNESCO guidelines for 2021, he said, adding: “For example, there are various TV programmes contacted on TV channels with lessons from school curriculums, there are online classes conducted with school teachers and they are given the opportunity to get extra online help if required.”
Finally, we asked Dr. Navaratne how he believes the literacy rate and learning processes can improve post-pandemic in Sri Lanka, to which he said: “Not having a normal school environment is a massive disadvantage to these children. However, it is important to utilise the resources available to make the most of the situation right now, so I believe with the use of the reading material available to students, support from parents and family together with online support, and the television programmes conducted, will help improve and maintain the literacy rate of future generations.”
