PARENTAL EDUCATION
“It is against this background that the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) lays emphasis on parental education and engagement. I appeal to all parents, guardians and teachers to play their respective roles in the learners’ growth and development and not to abdicate this role to teachers, who are also parents in their own right,” said Ms Mohamed.
The International Literacy Day is set aside to focus on raising awareness of literacy in human development”. The celebration, initiated globally at the World Conference of Education Ministers in Tehran, Iran in 1965, brings together all education stakeholders to take stock of the contribution of literacy and its impact on socio-economic development. This year’s theme, “Literacy for Skills Development”, seeks to empower communities to participate in socio-economic development.
GREAT STRIDES
“Kenya has made great strides in its efforts to eradicate illiteracy. Notable among them is the Free Primary Education and the Free Day Secondary Education programmes.
Other initiatives geared towards eradication of illiteracy include the constitutional provision that every person has a right to education and that every child has a right to free and compulsory basic education,” said Ms Mohamed. She expressed concern that Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) continue to lag behind in literacy.
“Collectively, the illiteracy rates in the North Eastern region are as high as 80 percent although not uniformly spread in all the counties “The literacy rate in Wajir County is between 10 — 15 percent. The current enrolment of 1,341 males and 1,297 females is insignificant in addressing the problem of illiteracy in the county,” said the CS.
