The fallacies of literacy campaigns: reflections on the Zimbabwe national literacy campaign

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Periodical article

Title:	The fallacies of literacy campaigns: reflections on the Zimbabwe national literacy campaign
Author:	Mpofu, Stanley T.
Year:	1997
Periodical:	Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research (ISSN 1013-3445)
Volume:	9
Issue:	1
Period:	March
Pages:	18-43
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs.
Geographic terms:	Zimbabwe Southern Africa
Subjects:	literacy education adult education government policy
Abstract:	In July 1983 the government of Zimbabwe launched a national literacy campaign that was aimed at eradicating illiteracy within a five-year period. In 1993, the total cumulative enrolment in literacy classes nationwide was only 732,126, barely a third of Zimbabwe's estimated 2.5 million adult illiterates, and only 91,390 of literacy participants had been declared literate. The campaign's failure has been attributed to inadequate financial resources. However, a reexamination of the relevant data suggests that the campaign was undermined by at least three fallacies: in actual fact there has been no real literacy campaign; the campaign was severely handicapped by the government's limited conception of literacy; and 'illiterates' do not necessarily see illiteracy as a problem. The author underscores the need for a 'New Deal' in literacy, based on a new conception of literacy and on the everyday demands of the intended clientele. Bibliogr., sum.