“ERADICATION of illiteracy is at the centre of creating an educated nation and is also the centre of alleviating problems relating to crime, abuse and suicide among other ills.”
This view was expressed by the Director of Public Service Training within the Ministry of the Presidency, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, during a Literacy and Human Rights Workshop on Monday, at Grand Coastal Inn.

Students from various secondary schools attended the event, as well as members of the Rights of the Child Commission (ROC) and other stakeholders. The workshop was held in observance of World Literacy Day, which is celebrated annually on September 8. Dr. Roopnaraine told the audience that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defined literacy as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written [and visual] materials associated with varying contexts.”

“It is literacy that is the greatest enabler of the delivery of education,” Dr. Roopnaraine reiterated, noting that “it continues to be a kernel in the development of a civilized society.” September 8 was proclaimed as International Literacy Day (ILD) at the 14th session of UNESCO’s General Conference in October 1966. Since then, International Literacy Day celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of its importance as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.(DPI)