Ministry Of Education Say Cooperative Societies Key To Literacy

The Federal Ministry of Education says cooperative societies are key to reversing the increasing rate of illiteracy in the country, especially among adult learners.

Director, Basic and Secondary Education, Binta Abdulkadir, made the observation at the inaugural meeting to include adult skill learners for Financial Empowerment through the Non-governmental Association for Literacy Support Services (NOGA LSS) in Abuja.

Abdulkadir commended NOGALSS for its zeal to assist Nigeria to achieve its target literacy level by empowering adult learners through cooperative.

She said the role of literacy in a nation’s development cannot be overemphasised, particularly for a developing nation like Nigeria.

She stated that literacy is a basic human right and an important key for human development, especially the basic literacy and numeracy skills adding that the definition of literacy has broadened to include a wide range of several other skills.

She further said this is as against the traditional bench mark of reading and writing in English language to incorporate skills like proficiency in computer applications, ability to read and write in any language, to mention a few.

Abdulkadir said that one known fact for illiteracy was poverty occasioned by inability to access funds for economic activities.

She said through this cooperative, adult learners would have access to funds for their financial self-reliance and economic advancement

Executive Secretary National Commission for Mass Literacy Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC), Abba Haladu, said that the move to empower adult education learners was apt.

Haladu represented by Assistant Director, NMEC, Nnenna Ejieji, said this was because of the challenges like illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and lack of funds for graduates of skill acquisition centres the country is currently contending with.

He said that the empowerment would reduce poverty, create employment among other benefits, adding that the commission would continue to partner with NOGALSS.

Meanwhile, the National President NOGALSS, Noah Emmanuel, said that the cooperative and NMEC forged a common front for financial empowerment of all adult skill learners in the Federal Capital Territory.

Emmanuel said that the partnership was with the knowledge that it was not enough to make people literate but there was need to see to their financial self-reliance by solving unemployment.

He said that the cooperative applied for three billion naira from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) but was looking at increasing the amount to seven billion due to its membership strength.

NOGALSS’ consultant to CBN on financial aspect, Usman Umar, said CBN already had a door called development finance, there was anchor, there was commercial agriculture and there was targeted facility and post COVID-19 loans.

On his part, Executive Secretary of the National Cooperative Financing Agency of Nigeria (CFAN), Emmanuel Atama, encouraged civil servants to join cooperatives and mobilise themselves to access loans for housing purposes and to meet other needs.

Atama said that this was important because cooperatives help civil servants to save money which would be of great benefit to them when they retire as the money usually came handy before their gratuity.