60 likes | 233 Views
ILLITERACY IN ROMANIA. MAIN CAUSES -POVERTY - EARLY-SCHOOL LEAVING -INSUFFICIENT INVESTMENT . IN EDUCATION.
E N D
ILLITERACY IN ROMANIA MAIN CAUSES -POVERTY - EARLY-SCHOOL LEAVING -INSUFFICIENT INVESTMENT . IN EDUCATION
In Romania the programmes that aim at reducing the illiteracy are not so many, most of them focusing of reducing the illiteracy among the children (especially the ones from the roma communities and from the poor communities) through prevention programmes against school abandon. • Most of the above mentioned programmes were financed through the Phare Access programme - The scheme “Access to education for the disadvantaged groups, especially the roma children”. This program had as main aim to offer a second chance for education to the persons that from different reasons didn’t finish their studies in the obligatory school system and to prevent the school abandon. Here are some examples of the projects developed under this programme: • - “Support for educational success of disadvantaged children” - coordinated by the Resource Center for Ethno-Cultural Diversity • - “Programme for prevention and fighting against school abandon for roma children and children coming from poor families in Botosani” - coordinated by The Association for the Promotion of Safety in the Community • - “The education - a guarantee for a better future for roma children” - coordinated by “Save the Children” – Bucharest • - “Training and educational programme for orphan girls in the fields required by the job market” - Foundation “Buna Vestire” • - “Educational programme for minors and young delinquents being in detention” - Foundation “Cuvantul are zideste”
The special focus to these particular target groups (roma children and children from poor families) is due to the big percent of children from these target groups that are not attending school or that are abandoning the school before they get to achieve a good level of literacy. Some statistics presented by the Romanian’s Government in his strategy regarding the romas communities are showing that 50 % of the children from the roma communities are not going to school, many of them because they don’t even have birth certificates, necessary for the school registration. As a consequence of this phenomenon, the percent of illiteracy among the roma adults over 45 years of age is 30 %. • The statistics regarding the level of illiteracy in Romania are few; many of the existing ones are limited to a special target group or are local (for a county or a small community). Some figures for the Estern European Countries regarding the level of illiteracy are placing Romania in the first place with 5% of the population. From all illiterates, more then 50% are adults. • A national study made by the Romanian Institute of Educational Sciences in 1997 showed that almost 4 % (800.000 persons from 22 millions inhabitants) of the Romanian population is illiterate. The biggest percent was registered between women and the persons aged 65 and up. From the total number 138.000 illiterates were under 33 years of age (3/4 under 15 years of age). The same study showed that the reasons of the school abandon were: the big expenses generated for a family, in order to send a child to school (for books, stationeries and clothes), the decrees of the motivation to learn in favor to the motivation to win money by working or to use the children as labor force for the family needs (especially for the families in the rural areas that have to work in the agriculture). • The results of a study made by the Romanian Institute for Quality of Life Research showed that from the total number of the young people from an entire generation, 20-30 % abandon the school.
Second Chance Education • One of the most important programmes in adult literacy field was “Second Chance” programme. This was an experimental programme for fighting against the social and professional exclusion of young people that for several reasons couldn’t finish their compulsory education and couldn’t achieve the minimum necessary competencies for finding a job. The target group of the “Second Chance” Programme was represented by young people aged between 14 and 25 years, coming from disadvantaged communities that, for several reasons, couldn’t benefit from the first chance offered by the formal educational system. The results were very promising: • 11 pilot schools involved in the programme; 300 students participating to the courses; 200 teachers and school directors trained in remedial education; 12 monitors and 9 mediators trained in remedial education. • The development of a new specialized curriculum for remedial education • Involvement of different actors: school, family, community • “Second Chance” Newsletter - was published every school year and addressed teachers for raising their awareness regarding the school abandon in the lower secondary education. “Second Chance Model” Brochure - presented the educational institutes involved, information about the teachers, communities, etc. • The key words of the programme are: easy access, modularity ,flexibility and support for students, as well as curriculum adapted to theirspecificity and permanent assessment of students`needs ,interests and learning rhythm.
Special Policy regarding Illiteracy • Some adult literacy programmes were organized in the Romanian Prisons. For example in the Colibasi Prison there are 14 illiterates divided in two groups: one groups of total illiterates that are attending courses at a primary level (1 to 4 grades) and one group of adults that know to read or write but not at a minimum needed level to well function in the society (they are attending courses for 4 to 8 grades). They are all between 17 and 21 years of age and when they will be released from the prison will receive diplomas for the level achieved by attending the illiteracy classes. In 29.03.2000 the Ministry of Education gave the Order no. 3510 regarding the new action that had to be undertaken in order to eradicate the illiteracy. The Order refers at two governmental programmes: the Programme for Second Chance Education and the Programme for Adult Education. Through this order, the Ministry requested to the local educational inspectorates to undertake researches in order to find out the name/addresses of the illiterates in their county and also the reasons of their illiteracy. Considering the results of this research, they should elaborate appropriate measures in order to reduce/eliminate the illiteracy • Some of the measures that should be taken by the local inspectorates were: • o To create special classes for the children that abandoned the school • o To organise in schools, military centers or community centers low frequency literacy classes for adults with exams in the school holidays • o To organize special programmes for the children with learning difficulties by involving the specialists from the Centers of Psycho pedagogical Assistance and the school counselors • o To organize intensive courses • These programmes also involve non-governmental organizations, local authorities, community representatives and churches representatives.