China has made great achievements in raising literacy and has
set an example for other developing countries, said UNESCO
director-general Koichiro Matsuura in Beijing Tuesday.
Opening UNESCO Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy
in Beijing, Koichiro said China had drawn a clear map to promote
nine-year compulsory education and was dedicated to creating a
cultural and educational environment for literacy.
In 1949 when the New China was founded, the primary school
enrollment rate was only 20 percent, and the illiteracy rate was as
high as 80 percent. By the end of 2005, 99 percent of school-age
children had access to primary education and the illiteracy rate
among young adults was down to four percent.
However, he said, despite the progress in certain countries and
regions, 774 million adults in the world still could not read and
write. Two thirds of illiterate adults were women. More than 72
million children were not in school.
"This conference is very important," Koichiro said. "We will
find more effective methods that could pinpoint the needs of
various countries."
The conference, with the theme of Building Partnership and
Promoting Innovative Approaches, is designed to help countries in
East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific meet literacy
challenges.
Koichiro said the literacy rate is as high as 91.7 percent in
the region, but varied widely within and between countries, while a
serious gender gap persisted, with 70.4 percent of the illiterate
population being women. While clear progress has been made over the
past years, in particular in China, the total number of illiterates
in the region remained significant.
"Therefore, much work needs to be done and the government should
take up the responsibility," he said. "The international community,
especially developed countries, should give more aid to developing
countries in urgent need of technology, knowledge and fund."
Koichiro hoped the conference could give a major boost to
putting literacy on the agenda of national policy-makers and
international agencies.
(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2007)
