September
8 was declared International Literacy Day by UNESCO on October 26, 1966 at 14th
session of UNESCO's General conference. It was celebrated for the first time in
1967. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals,
communities and societies. Celebrations take place in several countries.
Some 775
million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults are still not
literate and two-thirds of them are women; 60.7 million children are
out-of-school and many more attends irregularly or drop out.
According
to UNESCO’s "Global Monitoring Report on Education for All (2006)",
South Asia has the lowest regional adult literacy rate (58.6%), followed by
sub-Saharan Africa (59.7%). Countries with the lowest literacy rates in the
world are Burkina Faso (12.8%), Niger (14.4%) and Mali (19%). The report shows
a clear connection between illiteracy and countries in severe poverty, and
between illiteracy and prejudice against women.
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