By Ellen Banda

Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and Community Development has disclosed that the country is registering slow progress in enhancing adult literacy education.

In an interview with YFM, Deputy Director of Community Development for Adult Literacy Charles Mkunga said this as Malawi will be commemorating International Literacy Day on September 8, 2021.

“The Country through the National Literacy Programme in the Ministry of Gender has close to 2000 adult literacy classes which only reach out to 180,000 learners, but we have so many illiterate adults,” he said.

Mkunga said among others, adult literacy is facing a challenge of funding as it receives little funds from government.

On the other hand, one of the Organizations which promote Adult Literacy, Deutscher Vorkshochschul Verband (DVV) International Communications Officer, Dyson Mthawanji, said the main challenge they encountered is patronage as males are shunning away adult literacy classes.

Mthawanji said DVV has launched a pilot project which is currently being implemented in Lilongwe and Dedza districts called Adult Integrated Education which is providing business skills to address the challenge of low male patronage.

“We are also supporting government to ensure that there is a strategy which should be giving clear direction in as far as the implementation of the National Literacy and Education Policy is concerned,” Mthawanji said.