I have noted some claims in certain sections of the media which seem to suggest that the Ministry of Education has been doing little to address the problem of illiteracy in Guyana.
The Ministry of Education has long recognised the problem of illiteracy within the school system and even outside the school system. When the Primary Education Improvement Project (PEIP) and the Basic Education and Management Support (BEAMS) Programme were crafted, eradicating illiteracy was a major focus. The Ministry of Education received substantial support for its literacy programme from the Caribbean Centre of Excellence for Teacher Training (CCETT).
Through these programmes, curricula were revised, new literacy standards by grades have been established, textbooks developed, teachers were trained on the job on the new literacy approach, teacher educators received advanced training at both local and overseas institutions and assessment methodologies reformulated. Despite these interventions, a number of children at the primary school level continues to fall behind.
To address the problem, a National Literacy Unit was established to provide a more robust approach to the problem as captured in the current Ministry of Education Strategic Plan. The unit has a Head and two coordinators – one dealing with literacy in the formal education system and the other with the non-formal system. The coordinator for the formal education system has Regional Literacy Coordinators for all the administrative Regions of the country. Together, they work collaboratively with teachers and other literacy educators to provide additional support outside of the official school hours. In a similar manner, the coordinator for the non-formal system works with appointed literacy educators throughout the country to provide literacy training for persons outside the formal school system and which includes the correctional institutions like the prison service. In addition, the Unit received and continues to receive technical expertise from VSO volunteers recruited from the United Kingdom.
The National Literacy Unit has developed its own training materials as well as adapted literacy materials from Caribbean countries and from international and other regional institutions. Video and audio demonstration materials have been developed and are actively used in the training process for the literacy educators.
Evaluation of the impact of the literacy interventions is ongoing and the preliminary results released so far indicate that the investment and the strategic direction for literacy are bearing fruit. The results of the various initiatives have shown in some cases significant improvements in literacy attainment by students. The pre-test result for the Fast Track Literacy programme has an average Reading Age of 6 years 4 months and when compared with the post-test results six months after, the Reading Age moved up to 8 years 4 months showing a growth rate of two years. The comparative results for the Literacy Programme in the formal school system are still being worked on and would be released shortly.
During the current year the following are the major achievements of the National Literacy Unit:
* Twelve National Workshops for Literacy Coordinators
* Eight National Workshops for Literacy Educators
* Sixty regional monthly meetings of Literacy Educators to provide updates on implementation status
* Production of eight thousand Literacy Workbooks and Reading books
* Four national literacy assessments conducted on a quarterly basis
* Eight thousand four hundred and sixty persons completed Levels One and Two Literacy training
* Ten private and public sector organizations are involved in the national literacy programme including AEA, Wings on Words, etc.
* Two hundred and ninety-seven literacy educators have been trained and are employed to conduct literacy classes in one hundred and ninety centres spread across the country
* Training of 11 Regional Literacy Coordinators and 800 teachers for a six-week literacy intervention programme
* Successful six-week country-wide literacy intervention for 12 000 primary school pupils
* One five-day workshop for 28 Reading Teachers drawn from all regions of the country
* Reintroduction of Book Clubs in 34 under-performing primary schools with the expectation of fostering greater literacy success
* Established a working relationship between the National Library and the National Literacy Unit to increase access and encourage an interest in reading for both teachers and pupils

A great deal of effort has been placed on improving the level of literacy in this country. The challenges have been overwhelming but there are glimpses of success which suggest a long and arduous road ahead for those involved in eradicating illiteracy in Guyana.