Makerere University with financial support from the British Council and the UK Department for International Development under the initiative of Development Partnerships for Higher Education will train adult literacy facilitators in methods of teaching adults. The training will draw the reading and the writing practices that go on in the community.

Dr. Jesica N Aguti

The Head of the Institute of Adult and Continuing Education at Makerere University Jessica Aguti has told a press briefing at Makerere that the reason why they what to pass on such methods of teaching literacy that draw from the reading and writing practices of the community is because people always find it easier to lean and grasp from what goes on in their community than anywhere else.

Aguti says such methods will be effective in passing on literacy to adults than any other methods. 

Aguti says the project will also see more reading materials bought in the institute for new readers that have just learnt how to read and write.

Though there have been a number of efforts in Uganda to reduce adult illiteracy there is still a big need for more efforts in this respect as the Uganda’s literacy rates are only at 73% which means that 27% of adults in Uganda cannot read or write.

By Tiberindwa Zakaria