The South African Mass Literacy Campaign making strides
The National Reading Campaign and the Kha Ri Gude roadshow that took place at the Ackerville Sports Ground in the Mpumalanga Province on 23 June 2015, to monitor and evaluate the status of the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign, is in line with the Departmental theme for this year, “A reading nation is a winning nation”. The 1000 Mobile Portable Libraries Project will be launched across South Africa this year.
According to Dr Morongwa Ramarumo, the CEO for the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign, “libraries have a role to play in addressing literacy factors, from access to materials to training, promotion and cooperation. The role of libraries, with regard to the promotion of literacy and reading, is largely construed as marketing reading material and the reading experience in order to convince people to read and use these materials. In this regard the Department has developed a four year plan (2015 to 2019) dubbed, “The Reading Promotion and Provision of School Library and Information Services (SLIS) Plan.”
The Kha Ri Gude Project has been a critical and reliable mechanism used to address the literacy gap in this country for the past seven (7) years. More than 3.4 million South Africans have undergone Kha Ri Gude training and are now able to do banking transactions, read letters, sign contracts with understanding and use cell phones confidently. Furthermore, some of these graduates own small enterprises such as vegetable gardens and bakeries, to name but a few.
All Kha Ri Gude learners receive 240 hours of teaching and learning in their mother tongue, Literacy, Numeracy and spoken English. Kha Ri Gude volunteers are also encouraged to start reading clubs with other adult learners. The Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign provides Adult Basic Literacy and Numeracy so that learners can contribute to a meaningful citizenry. This year alone, the Kha Ri Gude Programme received an allocation of R439.584 million for 2015 to 2016. “This allocation shows our seriousness towards eradicating adult illiteracy in our lifetime,” remarked Minister Motshekga.
“Our meeting today to talk about the eradication of adult illiteracy overlaps with the nationwide celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter. The Kha Ri Gude Programme is our response to the call of the Freedom Charter, which declares that, ‘The doors of learning and culture shall be opened!’ The Charter specifically called for the eradication of adult illiteracy. To accelerate this programme Kha Ri Gude Provincial Coordinators were employed in each of the nine provinces.
The main responsibility of the Provincial Coordinators is to recruit learners who are illiterate in order to register with the programme. Community libraries will be used by learners and volunteer educators as resources for teaching and learning,” Minister Motshekga further explained.
“During the 2014 to 2015 financial year the Campaign impacted positively on poverty alleviation. We provided approximately 44142 short-term employment to volunteers, including unemployed graduates and youth with matric in all nine provinces. Volunteers received training, facilitator manuals and resources, which enabled them to provide teaching and learning to learners over the age of 15 years, including prison inmates and the disabled,” the Minister elaborated.
Minister Motshekga also stated that the youth volunteers were offered further study opportunities through the Funza Lushaka teacher bursary fund as well as through the various SETAs. “In order to improve the quality of teaching and learning the DBE will be responsible for the training of all volunteers in each of the nine provinces.
Training will be increased from 2 to 3 days and experts including previous Kha Ri Gude monitors and coordinators, with a proven track record, will be used to transfer skills and train these volunteers. The Department of Basic Education is also working closely with the provincial Departments of Education to provide support, monitoring and to assist with venues in schools for afternoon classes,” added the Minister.
Using the words of the former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, “Literacy is a key lever of change and a practical tool of empowerment on each of the three main pillars of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection,” Minister Motshekga concluded.
