The literacy campaign in Zimbabwe

This paper first presents a general background and global perspective on literacy. It mentions the various aproaches that can be adopted towards the eradication of illiteracy, the purpose of literacy and its relation to economic, social and political goals. The need for a literacy campaign in Zimbabwe is analysed and the development of the National Literacy Campaign in that country, and the responsibilities for it assigned to the Ministries of Education and of Community Development and Women's Affairs, are discussed. The main emphasis of the paper is on the poor participation in and relatively high drop-out from literacy classes, presaging the failure to achieve the commendable objectives of the campaign within the target period. Some recent statistics are presented, which indicate the trend of the campaign over the last three years. A study of participation in literacy classes is then presented, together with an analysis of the reasons for low participation. The conclusions drawn indicate that there is a need for national commitment, revitalisation of the campaign and new motivation at all levels if it is to succeed and so achieve its original objectives.