A non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Support of Women in Unpaid and Informal Employment in Nigeria (WIIEN), in partnership with the Oyo State Agency for Adult and Non-formal Education (AANFE), has presented some of its members who completed their six-month basic adult literacy classes facilitated by the agency.
The organisers, on Tuesday at the AANFE Office in Ibadan, noted that the event was in commemoration of the 2023 International Literacy Day with the theme ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies’.
The Coordinating Director of AANFE, Mr O. J. Oladejo, stated that the state government is seriously fighting illiteracy among its citizens, adding that those who have not taken the step to be literate should do so.
According to Oladejo, this year − from the 34 state-owned conventional training centres, 28 NGO-facilitated centres, and 4 centres organised by the National Mass Education Commission (NMEC) − 1497 people graduated from the basic adult literacy programme, 373 from the post-literacy class, and 140 from the advance class, making a total of 2010 graduates.
The Executive Director of WIIEN, Mrs Ehindero Alaba, said that her organisation commenced the basic adult literacy programme tagged ‘From Market to Classes’ in July, 2023, to help their members gain basic literacy skills such as numeracy, reading, and writing to enhance record keeping and documentation of their business transactions.
While appreciating the state government for providing the necessary support and materials to train thirty of their members, of which twenty completed the programme, Ehindero said through the programme, her NGO has been in a mutual working relationship with AANFE, which coordinates the adult literacy programme, administers the examinations, and offers the certificates.
In appreciation, she mentioned the innumerable support her organisation received from NMEC through its Oyo State Zonal Coordinator, Mrs Olufunke Lawal, who sent facilitators for the programme.
Explaining further the objectives of her organisation, Ehindero stated that WIIEN works to enhance the human capital development of women in unpaid care works and informal employment, which consists of home-based workers, street vendors, market women, and other self-employed women.
She added that they working to support measures that would ensure their labour-force participation, promote their health, education and gender equality, which are rooted in sustainable development goals (SDGs) 3, 4, 5, and 8.
For retention, the adult learners were taught digital bridge, bookkeeping, domestic assistanceship, and vocational skills to entice them to complete the programme.
“We deal mostly with market people. So, they were taught basic things that would enable them to count and negotiate. They were also taught how to make bags and clothes from ankara material, liquid soap, and Christmas trees from waste materials,” she added.
Dr Rosemary Odigbo, an official of WIIEN, reiterated that the organisation added vocational skills acquisition to the list of subjects offered at the centres to attract and retain more learners.
Odigbo added that graduated learners from the basic adult literacy class will proceed to the next level, which is the post-basic level progamme in January 2024.
At the event, some members of WIIEN – Moses Akwaji, Moniei Taiwo, and Blessing Raymond − who graduated from the basic level of the adult literacy programme, spoke on their experience, things they learnt, and how the knowledge and skills they have acquired will help them in their life and work.
Present at the event were officials of AANFE, representatives of the Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology; Oyo State Head of Service; NMEC; WIIEN staff and volunteers, and other NGOs.
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