Why Literacy?
Caribbean literacy rates are NOT over 90%
Official statistics are based on the availability of primary school places rather than demonstrated literacy competence. Low literacy is an issue in all English-speaking Caribbean countries and the problem is set to grow due to school closure during the pandemic.
In Trinidad and Tobago:
1 in 4 persons struggle with everyday reading and writing
1 in 2 cannot read and understand a paragraph of a newspaper article
Major learning loss due to the pandemic
The pandemic closed schools for almost two years:
June 2022 World Bank report “Two Years’ After: Saving a Generation”
Four in five 6th graders in the Caribbean are expected to lack basic reading comprehension proficiency. “Latin America and the Caribbean faces an unprecedented education crisis, which could compromise our countries’ future development,” said Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank VP for Latin America and the Caribbean.
2022 SEA results
63% of students scored below 50%
More than 9,000 students entered secondary school in September 2022 with scores below 50%, the majority of whom scored less than 30%
Literacy is required for participation in life and work
I thought there was no hope for me. I thought I would never learn how to read. So I continue on my way, I decided to stay illiterate. There is no place for me in the heart of society. Then, one day I met my good, good friend and she introduce me to a whole new life again. ALTA will teach you to read and write.
Sharon Romain, Chaguanas
Literacy is required for excelling in school
The ALTA Online Programme is exactly what the children in my school need. I have seen these children who are using ALTA Online transform from students filled with doubt and despair to students filled with confidence and self-belief having improved their reading and spelling skills.
Joseph Taylor, Principal of Mucurapo West Secondary School, POS
Literacy is fundamental to nation building
Literacy is a key ingredient for the development of a productive citizen to achieve social and community harmony and economic development.
Low literacy means unfulfilled individual potential, unfilled jobs and unemployment as the workforce lacks the skill set needed for a technology driven economy. Many of these persons are or become parents and tend to continue the cycle of low literacy, which in turn, continues the cycle of low national productivity.
Literacy & ALTA are aligned to four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
