Illiteracy still increasing [Archives:2005/831/Community]

Yasser Mohammed Al-Mayyasi
The Arab Human Development Report of 2002 confirmed that illiteracy is spreading in the Arab World and is hindering development, making the region less developed than Spain – the least developed country in the EU at that time.

The rate of illiteracy in the Arab world is still over 60 per cent and is increasing, making it the greatest regional barrier to development.

The Yemeni Government announced a long-term strategy for the eradication of illiteracy in Law No. 28, 1998. The strategy is being carried out throughout the country and aims to educate around 5.282 million illiterate people over the age of ten. The implementation of the strategy includes four phases, and will end in 2020.

The majority of illiterate people in Yemen are those who drop out of or do not commence schooling, sometimes due to a lack of classrooms. The number of children who are not enrolled in schools reached around 180030, and the figures of the Central Organization for Illiteracy and Adult Teaching indicate that over 105,000 illiterate people were taught across the country between 2004-2005.

The rate of students who drop out of primary schools ranges from between 20-30 percent, and 40 percent of children do not have access to primary education.
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