A survey recently published by Unicef stated that 9.2% of children in Argentina are born to an illiterate or severely undereducated mother. The findings, from their annual study ‘The State of the World’s Children’, seem shocking for a country which supposedly has the highest literacy rate in the continent.
However, although Argentina’s literacy rate is higher than its Latin American neighbours’, many of the figures fail to reflect the true range and depth of the problem. Figures are often heavily based on results in Buenos Aires, a city that prides itself on its academic heritage. The capital is home to some of the best universities and the biggest names in Latin American literature. Book shops populate the streets and indeed The Buenos Aires International Book Fair is the largest Spanish-speaking fair in the world, as well as one of the most important cultural and editorial events in Latin America.
But things are very different outside of the capital.
The areas of highest illiteracy are found among the indigenous communities. This part of the population is rarely fairly represented in surveys due to their isolation geographically as well as, rather ironically, culturally. Many of these communities retain their own indigenous languages and as such Guaraní and Toba. Though some of these indigenous languages are dying out, perhaps also as a result of illiteracy. Without the ability to read and write a language it is difficult to preserve it.
It is no coincidence that Bolivia, the South American country with the highest illiteracy rate, is also the South American country with the highest indigenous population (70%). Similarly the illiteracy rate in Northeast Argentina, where there are many indigenous communities, is twice the average for the rest of Argentina.
There is a lot of stigma attached to the problem. Many are afraid to admit that they are illiterate. It is likely that they have been cheated precisely because they do not know how to read or write – perhaps because they have admitted to having problems or also because they haven’t and as result have blindly signed away their rights. Therefore it is hard to go by what the statistics say.
Furthermore, the term ‘illiterate’ has wide interpretations. Many people can be classed as functionally illiterate: they technically know how to read and write. They are able to write their own name and read numbers and thus pass themselves as ‘literate’ though in reality are unable to perform other basic tasks using language.
A Cuban literacy project ‘Yo sí puedo!’ identified this key issue and established a teaching method whereby students learn to read by creating an association between letters and numbers. The project realised that even illiterate people work with numbers every day, for example, selling or buying products in the market. Thus, the classes develop from the familiar (numbers) to the unfamiliar (letters).
The ‘Yo sí puedo!’ scheme has been hugely successful, with Cuba now boasting a 98% literacy rate, one of the highest in the world. The project has since been adopted by a number of Latin American countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Mexico.
In Argentina the scheme is implemented by a group of regional organisations that together are called UMMEP – the acronym in Spanish for ‘A better world is possible’. The project was borne out of their work in the grassroots organisations, where they noticed illiteracy problems in indigenous communities, or in very poor areas of greater Buenos Aires. Now the programme is being applied in 12 provinces by volunteer workers for more than 2,100 people in each.
The UNMEP organisers note that the problem is not just one of illiteracy, but one of injustice that affects of all of society. They believe that reading and writing is much more than a question of literacy or illiteracy, black or white; it is being able to express what you think, what you feel. “It is about truly participating and solving problems of everyday life without having to depend on someone to read your prescription or accompany you to fill out an application, or constantly worrying because you’re not sure what you’re signing with your thumbprint; it is a qualitative leap into life, and thus into society,” they say.
This message is echoed by other literacy organisations whose larger aim is to give people confidence and independence. The mission of Fundación Leer, an Argentine programme that promotes the importance of reading, is ‘to generate a positive and lasting impact in one’s personal development to enable a full immersion in to society’.
While much has been done to promote child literacy in Argentina, as it has across the world, only recently have organisations begun to highlight the importance of adult literacy. Aside from the direct benefits of educating the older population, for many it is the key to improving children’s education. When a parent cannot read or write the chances of their child being able to read and write are reduced. Similarly, in a family where the parents have received only primary education before starting work, the cycle is likely to repeat itself with the children.
A recent study led by UBA’s Department of Education has highlighted the state of teenage and adult education beyond school. Their findings concentrate on the results of the two censuses is 1991 and 2001, between which there have been no significant changes in the level of ‘educational poverty’ or, as they have described it, the level of ‘education at risk’ – which signifies the risk people face of becoming marginalised from life – social, political, and economic – as a result of poor education or illiteracy.
The analysis deals with the Argentine population aged 15 or over that went to school once but who no longer go. Within this demographic, more than 14m people in Argentina are considered to be below the level of ‘risk’ – a number that has hardly changed in the decade between the two censuses (and very little since the one in 1981 too). Dr María Teresa Sirvent, who led the investigation, describes the group as illiterates, not in the purest meaning (that makes up a minor percent of the population), but in a wider sense.
She explains that to be literate is to acquire all the basic instruments of reading and writing – the elements necessary to be able to direct yourself in the real world. According to their study, 93% of poor youths are not armed with the necessary knowledge to fight for a future of better wellbeing. There is a situation where a large number of the population has been ‘left half way down the path of education’, thus leading to difficulties in the real world.
Fidel Castro, in a speech about education, pointed out that someone who has only the most basic ability to read and write will not be able to fully understand economic notions and as such is unable to completely control their finances.
The UBA study highlights the deficiency of the education system and in particular the disintegration of the education of adults. The worst educated groups are 15-19 year olds and 60-64 year olds, which presents a double priority: the education of the new generation whilst enriching the older generation.
However, getting adults to go back to school proves challenging. The fear and shame many feel is difficult to overcome and in the past there has been little in the way of support but things have begun to change. UARTE’s Rural Literacy Programme has been targeting the older population with considerable success. One particular member, Francisca, 82, from Jujuy, described the experience as a blindfold falling from her eyes, and went on to say that there is no greater poverty than not knowing how to read and write.
This is certainly true if Unicef’s survey is anything to go by. María Carmen Morasso, a Unicef Health Official, explained that the mother’s education can even affect the risk of infant mortality. The study shows that the regions with the lowest education levels are also those with the highest infant mortality rate.
This fact is particularly alarming when considered alongside UBA’s research that shows some regions’ education levels have worsened. Although recent years have seen the establishment of educational initiatives as well as increased vigilance surrounding the issue, such as the UN’s Literacy Decade 2003-12, only time will tell if these programmes have produced any lasting results.