1. Special materials:
2. 'Real' materials
3. Access to and use of these materials
Post-Literacy Programmes: There is in all the countries we visited provision for post-literacy. Much of this takes the form of the production of special materials for post-literacy, but several of our correspondents prefer to speak of 'post-literacy activities'. In Tanzania, for example, post-literacy provision is seen as compassing not just evening classes but also urban and rural libraries, folk development colleges, radio programmes, films, correspondence studies and zonal newspapers. Post-literacy materials are intended to support these activities.
Where post-literacy classes are held, as they are in most countries, the number of participants is only a fraction of those engaged in initial literacy classes. In India, this is formally recognised in that post-literacy classes are held in clusters of centres (classes) so as to make the post-literacy groups viable. Some agencies report that women are more likely to continue in their learning than men, but others report the opposite.
Post-Literacy Materials: In every country there are many materials which can be used for the practice of literacy. These materials fall into two main groups, special and 'real', each of which may be sub-divided:
Characteristics
Enhancing literacy skills:
Language:
Writing workshops:
Locally generated materials (LGM):
Low cost materials:
a) post-literacy materials: those which have been produced by literacy agencies specifically for activities planned to follow the primer-based literacy instruction.
b) easy reading materials: those which have been produced by non-literacy agencies for use in post-literacy situations or for more general use by persons with limited literacy skills such as newspaper corners or supplements for 'neo-literates', easy reading booklets.
2. 'Real' materials:
c) extension materials: those which have been produced by extension and other agencies in development programmes to accompany their own programmes
d) 'ordinary' materials: those which have been produced by a multiplicity of agencies for use in the community without any consideration for the literacy experience of those who may use them. We have called these 'ordinary' materials to distinguish them from the other 'extraordinary' or 'special' materials. This is by far the largest category but also the most under-used in post-literacy activities.
In most countries, there is a feeling that there is a lack of appropriate materials for post-literacy. Roy (1967) is not alone in stating that the major bottleneck facing literacy campaigns in the Third World is "the unavailability of suitable reading materials for new literates". We suggest this is due more to resource myopia than to a genuine lack of such materials. In most cases the materials exist; but they are not always seen as being educationally relevant. We acknowledge that in some societies, especially in areas of minority languages, there is a lack of such materials, but in general this reflects socio-political realities such as language policies or suppressed ethnic diversities rather than any failure of literacy or other agencies to provide such materials.
Large amounts of materials are produced by literacy and other agencies for use in post-literacy activities. These generally consist of two kinds, in part reflecting their different origins. Some are prepared for use in classes (post-literacy primers and readers). Others are prepared, often by non-literacy agencies, for readers to use on their own at home. They include 'easy reading' magazines, newspapers, and booklets with 'simple' texts which are often printed in a larger typeface and intended particularly for 'new readers'.
We provide below examples of these different kinds of materials drawn from case studies examined during the research project and from the literature review. An example of post-literacy materials is found in the work of the State Resource Centre, Madras and other agencies of the Indian Total Literacy Campaign. An example of easy reading materials is Learn With Echo in South Africa.
Copies of postcards written by students in post-literacy classes in Chittoor District, AP India (Figure 1)
Copies of postcards written by students in post-literacy classes in Chittoor District, AP India (Figure 2)
Contents: The bulk of this material is designed to carry developmental messages. This is justified by field research by bodies such as JMI in India which tends to yield results indicating that 'learners' wish to read material which is deemed to be useful. There are however indications that some adult readers wish to read mainly for pleasure, and materials, especially magazines, have been designed primarily for this purpose (see ERA, South Africa p14 below).
1a: Post-Literacy Materials (i):
THE TAMIL NADU STATE RESOURCE CENTRE (SRC), MADRAS
Each State in India has one or more SRC; the main functions are to help the agencies with materials production, training and monitoring and evaluation. Apart from initial literacy primers produced (as everywhere in the Total Literacy Campaign) at three levels, and training manuals etc, TN SRC has produced some 140 items of materials for post-literacy posters, booklets, a monthly newspaper for literacy classes and audio and video materials. Radio programmes dealing with subjects such as banking and health on All India Radio (Madras and Trichy) have been popular and materials are being prepared to go with these.
Materials are produced for a particular district of the state in writers' workshops bringing together Government and NGO experts, academics, journalists, "adult education activitists", school and college teachers. The materials prepared are made available throughout the state. Instructors (animators) and learners are rarely included in the workshops, but local involvement may take the form of farmers recording local practice which SRC staff then turn into printed material. SRC is keen to co-operate with other agencies such as Ministry of Health or local newspapers, to produce materials appropriate to neo-literates but this has not always been successful. A competition was run to identify existing materials suitable for post-literacy. 750 items out of 5000 submitted were recommended to literacy agencies but it is not known how many were acquired.
Post-literacy materials are at three levels: for 'neo-literates' (post-literacy primers in three stages - only one stage has been produced so far); a second level of 'novels' containing stories with useful information (medicines, housing etc), and a third level of 'serious magazines' and job guides. The distinction is maintained in vocabulary and size of text; the third level has 'normal' size of print and fewer illustrations to make them look more like 'real books'.
Materials are pre-tested. Most of the materials at the lower levels are aimed at women, many of the third level materials are aimed at men. Some of the stage 1 materials are planned to overlap with second and third-level initial literacy primers, sometimes using the same subject matter, illustrations and vocabulary. There is no attempt to relate these materials to the primary school curriculum. Almost all are for reading; SRC acknowledges that "writing and numeracy are neglected". The subjects are drawn from GOI guidelines for SRCs - "the daily activities of the neo-literates", health and medicine, income-generating occupations, national identity and leaders etc. Some are very popular, judging by the sales (50-60,000 copies), but the areas of greatest popularity are not immediately apparent: demand is often influenced by the preferences of the animators. SRC suggests that neo-literates ask for information, literates for story books. Vocational training is "an incentive for involving the learners in post-literacy".
The material is entirely rural SRC argues that urban learners come from rural areas and that there are enough materials in towns for these learners. On one occasion, material had to be withdrawn because the subject matter (land issues) offended the State Minister of Education. All materials are produced in standard Tamil.
Materials are printed 2000 at a time and reprinted as needed. Copies are supplied to local reading centres (JSNs) at the cost of the State Department of Non-Formal Education; others are sold at cost price to literacy agencies although a few receive the material free. We were told that good printing is very cheap in Madras. SRC is not a profit-making organisation - overheads, are not charged for this material. Design is often good and colourful by local standards, but some productions are on inferior paper. Most of the SRC materials are cheaper than other local productions but a few are highly priced (Rs8.50-Rs18; most commercial magazines are under Rs 10 per copy).
SRC indicates that distribution is their greatest problem. Although each agency is free to use the materials as they wish, normally 5 copies go to each literacy centre (class); the books are seen as a community resource, not a private possession. SRC could not handle large numbers of individual orders. SRC materials are rarely used by other development agencies though some attempts have been made in this respect: thus three staged booklets on tailoring for women have been sent to women's income-generation programmes. A monthly magazine for organisers, animators and some neoliterates is however sold to individuals for Rs 1 per copy.
1b: Easy Reading Materials (i):
LEARN WITH ECHO, PIETERMARITZBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Learn With Echo is an easy-reading newspaper developed by the Adult Education Centre of Natal University. It seeks to provide information and basic education to the "voiceless majority" through a free insert in the local newspaper; to encourage active learning by providing opportunities for inter-action; to offer non-political reading material during a time of turmoil; to establish a reading culture within the home; and to produce material for readers with limited literacy.
It is seen as an adult basic education response to high illiteracy and low education levels among black people in the Natal region, exacerbated by political violence which has raged since 1986. Using the skills of distance education and materials production in the university, the project seeks to create a learning opportunity for township readers. It is now a joint project between the university, the Natal Witness who publish and circulate the insert, and the Tembaletu Community Education Centre. Funding is raised through international aid, national industry and more recently the Joint Education Trust, a combination of South African businesses and black political and trade union movements. Securing funding occupies large amounts of the project's time and affects the potential for development. Funding is being sought for training tutors who will use the paper to provide assistance to learner groups.
Newspaper supplements are not new in South Africa. An early example was produced by SACCHED in 1976 when the school system collapsed owing to the apartheid boycott and subsequent riots, and this gave rise to a number of others. Echo however is relatively rare in targeting adults. The need for such a paper was researched for six months before the content and layout were finalised. Newspaper readers were questioned as to the topics they would find interesting, relevant and useful yet different from the didactic materials common to most post-literacy material. The insert thus produces leisure reading material that can be used as a learning resource in schools, literacy centres and training programmes.
The insert is aimed at black adults in the townships. Each page has a specific target group - newly literate adults, those with pre-school children, adults with higher levels of reading ability. Its contents include cartoon strips with captions in both English and Zulu, simple activities with instructions to literacy teachers on how to use the activity with a group, articles on health and child-care in English and Zulu in separate editions, general interest articles (e.g. History of Natal, AIDS, Child Abuse, or Water) and an interactive page for young children to be completed with help from older family members.
The project staff work with other community development groups, some of whom write articles for the insert. Networking is seen as crucial in reaching and supporting isolated communities. Links with radio are being explored.
But there is concern that these materials are not reaching the poorest of the poor. Out of 50,000 copies weekly, half go with the newspaper and the other half are distributed free in the townships. Extra funding on occasion allows additional copies of the insert to be sent to schools, literacy centres, health centres etc. Costs are kept low by printing the insert with the newspaper.
Feedback from competitions in the insert, surveys of attitudes towards the insert (eg language, visual material) and internal evaluations show
· on average the insert is read by four times its circulation, and by predominantly black and lower-income readers; 56% of whom are women· readers find Zulu text easier but prefer English; the project aims at a 50/50% language balance
· material written in Zulu by a Zulu speaker is more effective than material translated into Zulu from English (the project rewrites material in the vernacular wherever possible)
· those who understand the comics enjoy these items but some find them hard to understand; some of the conventions are difficult for readers to interpret at first - a move from simple to complex visuals is more effective
· the mediation of this material (especially the comic strips) to potential readers and training of trainers to encourage critical reading are both necessary.
LEARN WITH ECHO
A joint Echo, Centre for Adult Education, Tembaletu Community
Education Centre project.
Nr. 120 - January 28, 1993
Ukufunda nokubhala - Read and write 52
1. Abantu baqala ukulahla izibi eduzane nomuzi kaMkhize.
1. People start to dump rubbish near Mkhize's house.
2. UmaMsomi wathola amagundane nezimpukane ekhishini labo.
2. MaMsomi finds rats and flies in their kitchen.
3. UMaMsomi wathola ukuthi amagundane nezimpukane ziqhamuka
kwimfucuza.
3. MaMsomi finds that the rats and flies are coming from the rubbish.
4. Wakhokhela indoda ezoyilahla.
4. He pays a man to take it away.
Isaziso kubasizi
Funda nabafundi indaba kaMkhize. Beseke ubacela ukuthi bathole endabeni amagama asho okufanayo nalawa angezansi. (Izimpendulo zitholakala ngezansi kwekhasi)
Notes to helpers:
Read the Mkhize story with your learners. Then ask them to find words in the story that have the same meaning as the words below: (Answers are at the bottom of the page)
|
1. ukuchitha |
_______________ |
6. endlini yokuphekela |
_______________ |
|
2. imfucuza |
_______________ |
7. impuku |
_______________ |
|
3. wafica |
_______________ |
8. umlisa |
_______________ |
|
4. nekhaya |
_______________ |
9. wahlawula |
_______________ |
|
5. ziphuma |
_______________ |
10. uKhabazela |
_______________ |
Answers:
1. ukulahla 2. izibi 3, wathola 4. nomuzi 5. ziqhamuka 6. ekhishini 7. igundane 8. indoda 9. wakhokhela 10. uMkhize
Learn with Echo is produced at the Centre for Adult Education, Pietermaritzburg
Supplement to Witness Echo, Thursday, January 28, 1993 Page 1
Page from Learn with Echo, newspaper insert from Natal.
1a: Post-Literacy Materials (ii)
BOBP-DANIDA LITERACY PROGRAMME
The Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP) is a Regional Programme executed by FAO and supported by several donors to work for fisherfolk development in the seven countries around the Bay of Bengal. It works in technical aspects of economic development, social development (especially with women) and in general development outside the formal education system.
A non-formal education programme has been running in BOBP for some years, mainly aimed at institutional capacity building. In 1985, a training programme for village-level literacy animators was commenced jointly between BOBP, the State Government of Tamil Nadu and the State Resource Centre. Using the then existing centre-based National Adult Education Programme as its basis (a ten-month programme with 30 learners and one animator), a new 12-day participatory training programme was launched and a manual and trainers' handbook were prepared. New literacy and numeracy primers, learners' exercise books and instructor handbooks were compiled.
38 supporting booklets (10-20 pages illustrated, mostly A5 size) designed for use in post-literacy classes were produced by experts in writers' workshops. Learners and animators were not included in these workshops. The materials were written in English and translated into a standardised version of Tamil. It was agreed that the language should be at basic level, simple sentences using easy and common words (there was no gender policy). The subjects were chosen from the "real life" of the fisherfolk and included "the developmental inputs they should have" - information on health, occupations, the community, co-operatives, legal matters, women's position in society etc. The main purpose of these materials is stated to have been to sustain and enhance literacy skills, mostly reading and some numeracy, and only secondly to give information. The director of the project noted that "our [booklets] have only one theme and are less attractive [than SRC materials] in terms of presentation and subject matter - they appear heavy and dry". There are few links between the supporting materials and the primers and fewer to other materials such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, films etc. These materials were not pre-tested.
Only 6 of these booklets were however printed, four by the state government and two by SRC. Post-literacy materials did not receive as high a priority as initial materials. Commercial printers were employed, using relatively low quality paper, and a larger type face was chosen to assist the learners. The state government was the primary partner in this project, and the productions are significantly of lower quality than other BOBP productions.
The project lasted one year only. GOI adopted the training manual (in a revised version) for national distribution, but in Madras many of the manuscripts of the supporting materials were lost. In 1992, DANIDA and GOI revived the project under the title of NAEPOD (Participatory Nonformal Adult Education Project for Fisherfolk of DANIDA) and it ran until late 1993, housed in BOBP. The original primer materials have been revised and reprinted.
The production of post-literacy materials has not been included in the revived project - DANIDA has hesitations about the costs of this part of the programme. The cost of producing supplementary materials must therefore come from SRC, other donor agencies or from BOBP. Some five or six copies of the post-literacy materials which have been produced and others supplied by SRC are sent to the animators in the literacy classes on the initiative of the project staff. They are made available to the learners for loan free of charge: it was felt that learners would not be willing to buy their own copies. The project, like NAEP, seems to be based on the premise that the first task of the animators is to motivate unwilling learners; thus an awareness programme is the first part of the activities. The classes have requested more copies which are not available. The animators have received no training in the use of supplementary materials and those who borrow these booklets to read at home have no opportunity to discuss them in class. Other materials such as newspapers and magazines are used in class.
The staff have sought to obtain feedback on this material. The material has been welcomed though some comments on illustrations led to some redrawing. There is anecdotal evidence of impact: one booklet which suggested that fish should not be purchased from uncovered stalls with flies led to a boycott of some local fishstands and to complaints about the booklets from the vendors. But there has been no formal evaluation and the supporting materials are not used in the test administered at the end of the course.
The staff of the project attempt to assess the learners' desire to read, but they note that there are no JSNs in these fishing villages and claim that there is no reservoir of reading materials in the villages. They feel that donor support should be given to the production of post-literacy materials, to the formation of groups, and to the establishment of local libraries. They also feel that all the material should be free; as they point out, villagers have access to free newspapers at the local teashop).
EASY READING FOR ADULTS (ERA), JOHANNESBURG
ERA, based at the University of Witwatersrand with close connections with the Zenex Adult Literacy Unit, emerged as the result of a research project in 1989 into why publishers produce few easy reading materials for adults. A short story competition for adults, launched throughout South Africa, produced more than 800 entries in nine languages. Funds were raised to publish some of this material and to set up a body to promote the production of easy reading materials which it was felt are essential if literacy is to be sustained. ERA was founded in 1991 and is currently funded by Rockafella Brothers.
The aims of ERA are to promote a reading environment by encouraging the production of materials for adults which are fun, stimulating and easy to read, which do not reinforce stereotypes and which are accessible; to network with publishers, libraries and learners to facilitate this; and to catalogue what is available and to promote it widely. Some of the stories received in 1989 are still being published in newspaper supplements or as independent publications, and the success these achieve is felt to illustrate the interest in writing and reading of easy fiction in South Africa.
ERA is primarily interested in the production of fiction. It does Dot publish material itself but urges others to do so. Commercial publishers however have been reluctant to produce books which will have a relatively slow turnover. In addition, commercial publishers prefer to publish in English, and some of the stories have had to be translated to satisfy such publishers. ERA feels that a market exists for increased publication in African, languages and seeks new ways of reaching this market. All publications promoted by ERA carry the ERA logo, intended to attract new readers. ERA has begun to act as a consultant to companies, advising them on how to make in-house magazines accessible to new readers and on the setting up of company libraries. ERA has also assisted ELP (see p 21 below), providing stories for Active Voices, and has worked with Storyteller (see page 36), producing a story for a mail-order catalogue insert. The latter has a wide circulation even in remote areas and, providing the mail-order companies can be persuaded to carry and fund such inserts, has the potential for further exploitation.
1a: Post-Literacy Materials (iii):
JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA (JMI), DELHI
The literacy centre in Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi was established in 1938. It is a recognised SRC for Delhi, but its reputation and materials are highly regarded in other parts of the country. It is concerned with curriculum development, training, documentation, research and evaluation, innovations and environment-building in adult literacy.
JMI sees post-literacy as a stage after initial literacy leading to the opening up of the formal education system to adults; there is no real end to post-literacy.
JMI produces many materials for post-literacy. These are at three levels - first level 'remediation' for 'dependent readers'; second level for independent but unconfident readers; and third level for independent and highly motivated readers who could normally read a newspaper regularly on their own. The first two although used after the end of the initial literacy course are designed to overlap with initial literacy materials in reading and writing levels, so as to reinforce the later stages of the primer-based literacy learning.
JMI pays attention to language, vocabulary, the kind of words used (nouns, verbs, adjectives etc) and sentence length; and to illustrations, format and content. Work in this area is going on, for example, into size of margins, and JMI plans to produce guidelines in due course.
Almost all the materials are for reading but some experiments with post-literacy writing are being made: thus lines have been removed from the post-literacy primer, so that learners can write in their own way on the page instead of keeping to lines. Experience however suggests that learners do not like to write in books as "it spoils them". Learner-generated writing has not proved successful: "we found that they can write in answer to a question but not write independently". The cause of this, they suggest, lies with the animators who do not allow the learners to work on their own and to make mistakes which the animators feel might reflect badly on them.
The subjects are chosen by workshops of animators and learners. One animator workshop identified alcoholism as a major concern of the learners, but the learners themselves rejected this: they chose access to community resources such as electricity as their main concern. Materials on mother-child care led to demands from unmarried women for material relevant to them. JMI has established procedures to enable them to receive such demands and to be responsive; but feedback is anecdotal, not systematic.
JMI also works with other agencies such as UNFPA, UNICEF and GOI Ministries in the production of materials. Some Ministry of Agriculture materials were translated, illustrated, printed and distributed by JMI; letters which came in response to these materials were passed to the Ministry, "but we don't know if they are answering these letters".
JMI produces some regular magazines which include numeracy quizzes etc and which provide some feedback. Films, videos, songs, plays and folk culture, playing cards etc all feature in the JMI literacy materials production programme.
JMI is conducting an evaluation of post-literacy and JSNs and learner preferences. They feel that learners should not be treated as a homogenous group but that different materials should be prepared to meet different needs. Their experience suggests that younger readers prefer story books (reading for pleasure) and older readers prefer books with messages (reading for information. Some readers suggest they go to films for pleasure while they read for serious purposes.
The main problem with post-literacy is not the preparation and production of materials but their distribution and use and the development of feedback. Few JSNs are working realistically, especially in Delhi with its high rents. Books are selected by local committees, not by readers, and some preraks are cautious about issuing books.
Post-literacy writing: Most of these materials are for reading. There is very little material for writing (except in Latin America where some material is specifically designed for participants to write and to draw) and not much more for post-initial numeracy. Both India and Tanzania however include 'real' writing in their post-literacy programmes, Tanzania to promote skills of greetings and dialogue and of writing official and personal letters and telegrams etc, and India to encourage the sending of postcards (supplied to the learners) to the local Collector concerning the developmental needs of their own village.
Formats: Most of this material takes the form of booklets but other formats are also produced such as posters, newspapers and newspaper supplements, comic books, graphic novels, write-on books ete (UIE 1984; PROAP 1993).
After special booklets, newspapers are probably the most common form of such special easy reading materials (Chambers 1992). They take a variety of formats newspaper 'easy reading comers', newspaper inserts or supplements and a few whole newspapers specially written for 'neo-literates' as in Chittoor. They are often produced centrally or regionally, printed in large numbers and circulated to the literacy centres, usually on demand. Most are supplied free of charge; almost all the rest are heavily subsidised. Only in South America did we come across a post-literacy magazine (Enlace) which is commercially priced but which nevertheless is "oriented to post-literacy and focused on development-related issues" and in which the "participation mechanisms of the readers are effective" (Berthoud corr.).
Post-Literacy Newspaper:
CHITTOOR TOTAL LITERACY CAMPAIGN: A NEO-LITERATE NEWSPAPER
The Total Literacy Campaign in India has been localised so that each District can - if it wishes - develop its own approach and materials, subject to the approval of a central committee. Chittoor, in southern Andhra Pradesh, like many other Districts, has taken full advantage of this facility, while keeping to the general structure of the TLC. The programme is high profile, with rallies, processions, torchlight parades, street plays, its own symbol, literacy songs, advertisements in cinemas and in the press, on hoardings and loud-speaker vans and cycles etc. Very large numbers of volunteers have enlisted and have been trained in four-day residential camps. All sections of society have been enlisted, including the press, political parties, government departments, universities etc. Strenuous efforts are made to maintain the impetus of the campaign.
A District level resource centre prepares and publishes primers, post-literacy materials, a fortnightly magazine for the volunteer teachers, and other material including publicity for the programme,
At the start of the programme (January 1991), nearly 60,000 volunteers commenced teaching some 600,000 learners; 55% were women and 75% came from scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. By March 1993, more than one quarter had completed the first three stages of the initial primer and were moving on to post-literacy.
The post-literacy stage of TLC is envisaged as a distinct stage after the end of the initial three-stage primer. It has three elements - the development of JCKs (Andhra Pradesh's version of JSNs), printed materials and classes "to retain the newly acquired skills by constant contact with, the written word", and thirdly "ongoing developmental programmes so that the relevance of learning is felt in day-to-day existence".
Classes are clustered, anticipating a drop-out between the initial classes and the post-literacy classes. Like the initial literacy instruction, post-literacy is also in three stages: a first-stage post-literacy primer has been prepared in Chittoor and the other two stages are planned, and a manual for volunteer teachers produced. More training for volunteers and others is planned on how to increase participation in the post-literacy programme.
A range of materials has been produced. A daily newspaper Andhra Prabha devotes one quarter of a page every day to a neoliterate corner incorporating articles written by volunteers on agriculture, family welfare, health, education, natural resources, science etc. A fortnightly magazine is sent free to every JCK printed, like the newspaper 'corner', "in bold type for easy reading, assimilation and discussion among the neo-literates". It uses cartoons and a pullout poster. Competitions are held for local writings, and radio programmes produced.
The post-literacy primers deal with subjects such as alcoholism, family planning, land reform, intercaste marriages and the preparation of village development plans. One of the aims of the post-literacy programme is to encourage and enable the participants to write to the District Collector about village development needs. Prepaid postcards are distributed, and some of the Collectors have met with groups of learners to discuss their needs. Issues raised by the literacy groups include social forestry, sanitation and the local drink 'arrack' (about which there is major political controversy).
The noted feature of the Chittoor District programme is the weekly neo-literate newspaper. First conceived and piloted by the National Institute of Adult Education (Delhi), Chittoor became the first District to take up the idea (June 1992). It is edited, designed and produced by Mr Nayuni Krishnamurthy, a local printer, and his staff in the village of Chowdepalle. It is a single folded broadsheet, printed in large type and one colour, using computer setting, laser composition and offset-commercially viable facilities which are available (with a generator) in this village.
The subject matter comes from many sources including suggestions from the readers each issue will contain some political news, an article on social development, a short story, a cartoon and perhaps songs and poems. Agriculture is the main focus (especially sericulture and sugar cane). Questions and answers, competitions, quizzes calling for responses by postcard are regular features; and some of the postcards are printed by the paper in the handwriting of the writers. The material is not pretested; there is no time from week to week.
The language used is a standard form of Telugu ("the local form is too difficult to read"), and criteria relating to style and vocabulary have been agreed. Although some local persons were sent to Hyderabad for training in writing for neo-literates, the paper is largely the work of one man: "I get the articles, I edit, I rewrite - finally I write the whole paper". Evaluations are obtained from local respondents and selected workers; the editor fears that the quality of the material is beginning to decline as time goes on.
This neo-literate newspaper is funded by central government through the state government. In November 1992, after a special edition devoted to the arrack controversy, the paper was closed on the grounds that it published material relating to corruption which was over-critical of the state government. The closure aroused strong local resentment ("people wrote in their hundreds - they threatened to stage a demonstration") and it became a national and international issue of press freedom. Permission to resume printing was given in April 1993 on condition of state approval of all the contents.
The future of the paper is uncertain. The editor would wish to turn this into a daily paper but some readers felt that they did not have time to read a daily paper. Five copies of the paper are sent free to each literacy centre where they are read in the group or by individuals in the centre rather than borrowed for home reading. Surveys suggest that very few persons would be willing to pay Rs 1, for it (it costs Rs 1 per copy to produce, using volunteers for much of the work). There is no rivalry with commercial newspapers since it is not being sold. Income from advertisements is not possible because circulation is limited to a very poor part of one of the poorest states of India. It is not likely that government departments would use this as a vehicle for their messages. The paper does not reach family welfare, agriculture and health extension workers in the area (with the notable exception of the breast-feeding campaign). More recently some agricultural input has come from ICRISAT in Hyderabad. While it is reaching some schools, the use of it in this context has not been assessed.
Some 9500 JCKs have been established in the District, each serviced by three 'monitors' who have been trained to run a wide ranging programme of activities such as post-literacy classes, discussion forums and village parliaments, literacy walls, meetings and study tours, as well as to keep a neo-literate bookshelf. Some monitors have acquired a wide collection of 'real' materials (political leaflets, health and agricultural booklets, posters etc) as well as the materials provided by the District TLC committee, and these are available to all those in the community who can read, not just the members of the post-literacy classes. Supervisors have been appointed and trained for the JCKs. In some places the village literacy committee members are now being elected by the villagers, and the JCKs have become the focus for the production of village development plans.
The aims of the post-literacy programme are not just to strengthen the learners' literacy skills and develop an inclination towards continued learning. They are also to conscientize and integrate both learners and volunteer teachers into development programmes, to develop community participation and a willingness to work for change, and to develop linkages with state-provided social development programmes such as family welfare, immunisation, social forestry, school attendance, and natural resource development. Villages in the District have established a women's group and a separate men's group, serviced by a local government field officer, and have obtained from the state government better-grade housing and a cattle development project.
The drink issue has become a focus of attention. On the basis of guidelines produced by the National Literacy Mission, the first-stage post-literacy primer in a neighbouring District included an article on "the evil effects of excessive drinking", and this led to direct action by the learners to close some of the arrack shops. The movement spread to Chittoor District and became the subject of post-literacy discussions. Political parties became embroiled and the issue reached the state government which intervened. The state authorities feel that politics should come into the literacy programme "but not yet, because the people may not be able to judge yet".
Funding for post-literacy is tenuous. The TLC was always seen as a time-bound activity, a once-for all campaign. Thus central government funding will end shortly and it remains to be seen if the state will continue to support it. A proposal has been made to extend a programme of non-formal schools for out-of-school youths to adults.
Part of the neo-literate newspaper from Chittoor District, AP, India
Most of these materials are designed for persons seen as 'learners'. Some are graded, since they are primarily intended to help the readers to "learn more literacy". The problems of assessing and evaluating enhanced literacy skills is one which is rarely addressed, but where it is, the tests are usually derived from primary school. In Nepal, many adult literacy materials are related to levels 4 to 8 of primary school. Egypt uses Primary Std 3 and Std 5 tests for the adult literacy programme, and beyond this, the adult learners are encouraged to take other examinations from the school system. Thailand regards its post-literacy programme as being equivalent to "lower secondary education". In Bahrein, to prevent students relapsing, the two-year initial literacy programme is followed by two years of a formal education curriculum and a final year which "reaches Year 6 of Primary Education". Equivalent intermediate and secondary level classes are also available (Bahrein 1987). Only in South Africa have we found any serious discussion as to whether such modes of assessment are appropriate for adults: the hesitancy of an adult reporting that he/she had reached the reading age of a seven-year-old, recorded in the UK (Charnley et al 1979), does not seem to feature in many developing countries.
In many countries, where initial literacy is taught in the vernacular, post-literacy consists of learning to read and write in another (usually a standardised or international) language. In South Africa, English is often taught in a subsequent programme of classes (ELP); in India, it is either Hindi (if that is not the language of the initial literacy classes) or English. There is demand for English from members of adult literacy classes in Bangladesh. In other countries, the language is Spanish or French or the national language. Literacy cannot be taught without making implicit or explicit decisions about language; such matters should always be explored overtly before programmes are launched.
Some of this material is written by individuals - outside experts or literacy practitioners. But the most frequent method of production is the writing workshop. Some of these (e.g. DSE in Kenya) build in evaluation and feedback from potential users of the materials. On occasion, materials are produced to a formula and are then adapted to different regions (see PROAP). The materials are almost always prepared without detailed consideration of what is already available in the local community. And although the language of participatory production is used, this model is mostly top-down at the regional, national or district level - that is, the materials are prepared for the learners. The subjects are chosen by the writing groups on the basis of what they believe to be the main interests and concerns of the potential readers. The PROAP regional and national workshops take the material drafted by the workshop experts into carefully selected villages for pretesting; but the model is still one of topdown presentation of chosen material to the intended participants for their comments rather than the material being chosen by the intended participants themselves.
English Language at post-literacy:
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROJECT (ELP) JOHANNESBURG
ELP is a national NGO started in 1982. Its two main literacy activities are producing ABE materials in English for adult classes and publishing Active Voice, a bi-weekly newspaper for 'new readers'.
The ABE materials consist of high quality semi-graded workbooks aimed at basic skills for urban living and for obtaining employment. They contain information on form-filling, directions in town, counting, the human body etc; and secondly stories, some of which are written by readers ("I told myself I am going to learn"; "hostel life"; "Petrus Tom Boy: his life struggle" etc). These materials are used in mixed-gender classes of 6-10 learners with a lay teacher. Training in ABE is available for facilitators. Plays, games and discussion are used in classes as well as formal class work.
Active Voice is a newspaper. Originally it was 12 pages in size and was politically active, distributed on the streets and at rallies. The political content however proved unpopular, and it now consists of 4 pages of 'current-issue' material on women, racism, religion, teenage pregnancy, teachers' strikes etc. It also contains advice, quizzes, a news summary and reader information. The print run has declined from 7000 copies to 2000. They are sold by subscription (50 cents) and are used also in literacy classes and township libraries. ELP recognise the need for better marketing - feedback indicates that the paper is popular but current circulation is low.
Writing Workshops (i):
DSE WRITING WORKSHOPS FOR POST-LITERACY: THE ACTION TRAINING MODEL (ATM).
DSE has been involved for more than a decade in writing workshops that help local people to produce materials for literacy and post-literacy. They have strong links with East Africa, especially Kenya where a new national post-literacy programme to extend over five years is currently being planned, based largely on DSE models of working.
The workshop model has been refined over several years by Dr Josef Muller of DSE in collaboration with H S Bhola of Indiana University. The approach has been written up in a working document The Action Training Model. Based on approaches to adult education as learner centred and participatory that owe much to UK exponents, the model provides for in-service and block release training for middle level technical personnel.
The process consists of initial workshops of two to three weeks for exposure to issues involved in writing literacy materials. Participants prepare their own materials in draft form. They then return to their own places of work where they continue to organise their materials, testing them out in the field. A mid-term, workshop of one week to ten days is then held to share findings with fellow practitioners and facilitators and to develop the materials further. They return to their places of work again once and continue to receive guidance and supervision at a distance. A third and final workshop is held to finalise the materials. DSE is not involved with the printing of these materials.
The DSE model depends on the practitioners continuing to be in their own work environment unlike the PROAP model where the participants visit target villages as foreigners over a very short time scale.
Even in the more elaborate programmes, when the materials are taken from the workshop to be produced more locally, they are context-adjusted rather than context-dependent. They pay lip-service to the audiences they are meant to reach. Except in a few cases such as Storyteller and Learn With Echo in South Africa, relatively little real attention is paid to the end-users beyond ensuring that the language and the illustrations are culturally correct. International or national standardised languages are used in the workshops, and the materials may or may not be translated into local languages or adapted to local usages.
On occasion this workshop design has been distilled into standardised formula, with manuals and guidelines for others to follow along the same path (see PROAP; DSE 1990, 1994). This model should be monitored to see how effective it is in preparing materials which are truly locally relevant for literacy usages; and some action research could be undertaken to see if this model can be helped to produce materials which are more culturally sensitive.
PROAP: UNESCO PRINCIPAL REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC.
PROAP based in Bangkok and ACCU (the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO) based in Japan have been organising joint regional workshops on the preparation of literacy follow-up materials since 1983. In 1987, they launched APPEAL (Asia-Pacific Programme for Education for All) and ATLP (the APPEAL Training Project for Literacy Personnel) with the aim of eradicating illiteracy from Asia and the Pacific regions by 2000 AD.
The PROAP approach to literacy teaching is strongly competence-based. ATLP sees literacy acquisition in terms of carefully structured stages within a continuum that can be correlated in a linear sequence (see Table 1 page 5). With systematically applied training programmes, which include reading, writing, numeracy skills, and functional knowledge, the competency of an individual can be developed from total illiteracy through semi-literacy to newly acquired literacy (neo-literacy). During the semi-literacy and neo-literacy stages, there is a danger of regression into illiteracy if appropriate programmes are not maintained. It is at the stage of 'adequate functional literacy' that literacy will be able to facilitate further personal and societal development when an individual can 'accept responsibility for his or her ongoing learning as an autonomous learner'. The majority of citizens need to reach this stage for a community to become 'a learning society'.
ATLP sees educational stages that correlate with these literacy stages. Formal education is unavailable to illiterates and semi-literates. Non-formal education may enable them to enter the formal education system. Informal education is seen to take place throughout life but "takes on real meaning when a society is sufficiently literate to fully exploit the informal learning resources available". Adult and continuing education both demand high level literacy skills.
One enters post-literacy programmes at the neo-literate stage. ATLP divides post-literacy into four categories of skills - reading, writing, numeracy and general mental skills. Each of these is graded into three levels of competencies. It is recognised that at the post-literacy stage, it is difficult to define standards exactly - the table is "an indicator only". Each country in the region may wish to determine its own standards according to circumstances and needs and the characteristics of national and local languages.
Materials are prepared under a variety of headings-Follow-Up or Supplementary
Materials, Reading Materials for Adults with Limited Reading Skills, etc. The aim of PROAP's well-resourced materials production programme is to overcome what is seen to be an educational vacuum in many countries where adult education programmes have been initiated without a carefully constructed curriculum at national level. Five areas are proposed for the post-literacy curriculum fiction, biography, civics and values, functional knowledge, and culture. More than one book is needed in each of these areas. In many countries, this range of material may not be in existence, and a materials development programme is needed first.
Almost all PROAP's literacy materials, including initial primers, post-literacy readers and training manuals, are prepared in regional workshops. Representatives from each of the member countries are funded by ACCU to participate in these ten-day residential workshops in different host countries. Each workshop has a theme, e.g. To Promote Women's Self-Reliance; Quality of Life Improvement; Women in Rural Areas; Neoliterate Materials for Rural Development etc. These are decided in advance, and delegates are chosen accordingly. All participants arrive with a report on the literacy situation in their own country and the workshop opens with the delegates familiarising themselves with the literacy situations of the other workshop members and brainstorming topics for materials development.
Reading materials are written by groups in English. They are based on surveys carried out in the host country using the 'New Participatory Method' (NP). NP is highly structured and owes something to RRA (Rapid Rural Appraisal) and latterly to PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal). Workshop delegates visit selected villages in small groups and engage in discussions with villagers; on their return, the groups discuss their impressions of the problems of the village "for about thirty minutes, each member talking for between two and three minutes". Members then write down on slips of paper ten or more of the "most crucial problems and needs" of the villages visited. The slips are then grouped and each category is summarised and the needs prioritised. A 'data map of needs and problems' is drawn up and the areas are used as the topic base for preparing the new reading material.
Each workshop group is allocated a number of themes. Short stories drawing on personal experience and suggesting solutions to the problems raised are then written in English. These are then translated into the language of the host country for field testing in the selected villages. They are then revised and compiled into a report. The prepared materials are taken home and translated into the national language, often within a similarly constructed national workshop.
The post-literacy materials developed through the PROAP method are problem-based. They aim to enable the target group to improve their quality of life, to be objective, to help them to solve problems. Audio-visual materials such as videos, working modules, and facilities for demonstration are produced in addition to books, charts, pamphlets, newspapers, leaflets, posters and flash cards.
This process of writing workshops has been distilled into guide books, manuals and a training programme with video to encourage the production of post-literacy materials which adapt the messages and text to local interests in an approved manner. PROAP provides a model and a source of materials production.
Feedback has not been always favourable. The difficulty of reconciling the rhetoric of being participatory, locally focussed and adaptable to local needs on the one hand with the promotion of central, often 'scientific', agency messages on the other hand has been discussed at seminars such as that organised by UIE in Hamburg in September 1993. Among the reasons suggested for the problem were: that the materials lacked cultural sensitivity; that agency messages may be put over too strongly; that needs assessments may not have been effectively conducted; that materials from other agencies may not fit clearly with the graded approach; that teachers may not be well trained to handle these materials; that most of what is produced in this way consists of top-down centrally produced materials and ideas, extending information and assistance to 'backward' villagers; that the materials may reflect the functional and pedagogic interests of the programme developers; and that more attention might be paid to materials that people might read for pleasure. These materials are almost all for reading - there is very little to promote writing.
Part of Mina Smiles, a promotional leaflet for literacy classes produced by PROAP, Bangkok
At the pharmacy, she has another problem...
On her way back home, she is passing the literacy class...
LGM is a term which is increasingly being used by literacy agencies. For some, it means 'locally'-generated materials, for others, 'learner'-generated materials (Heim 1979).
Experience suggests that projects using LGM approaches are never long-lasting. Where they exist, apart from newspapers, they usually take the form of the occasional (often one-off) production (the Zimbabwe Community Book Project ran to several volumes before it ceased). Sometimes these are generated by a competition (see FIVDB). A more elaborate project is 'Songs and Stories' in Sierra Leone undertaken by the People's Education Association (PEA) with assistance from DVV: oral material is recorded at festivals and edited and published in a sequence of publications. But this programme too has problems of sustainability (DVV 1986).
Even the newspapers, the most common form of LGM, come and go. Liberia had duplicated village newspapers in the 1950s, Niger had papers written and printed (using silk screen presses) by the villagers in the 1970s, and Kenya had many local language rural newspapers which no longer survive (Tanzania, CESO/SIDA 1992). Mall has had perhaps the longest continuous experience with a national rural press with the newspaper Kibaru has been supported by the government (Rudiak corr.).
The importance of the local context in every aspect of literacy instruction is clear. Post-literacy, even more than initial literacy education, will be highly context-dependent. The evidence from Nepal and other places reveals the need to pursue the production of locally generated materials, not least in those areas where language groups are small. Without the provision of such materials, these areas will be increasingly dependent on outside providers of literacy materials using standardised languages, and there is a great danger that such materials will be culturally insensitive. Except apparently in Nepal (Nepal 1986,1993), training for the production of LGM seems on the whole to be lacking, though the UCLAP Project in South America provides "distance training of local groups in local press editing" (Berthoud corr.).
In some cases, learners have been built into the writing workshops for post-literacy - for example, in Tanzania where Chewata (the national adult education association) with AALAE has recently developed a range of post-literacy materials. The newly formed Kenya Adult Learners' Association and other learners' associations have taken the provision of post-literacy materials as one of the main focuses of their activity.
Those who use LGM approaches stress their value:
· they contribute greatly to motivation to use these materials
· they ensure a greater measure of relevance in the contents of the materials
· the production itself promotes further learning
· the processes involved lead to great increases in confidence building and empowerment
· they encourage the usage of literacy skills (see BALID 1993).
Most forms of local or learner involvement in the production of post-literacy materials have provided opportunities for the participants to help with the shaping of the materials or (more usually) with the pre- and post-testing of materials prepared elsewhere. Only occasionally are materials completely written and produced by individual learners or local groups. But evidence gathered from several places (see, for example, Banda, India, Rogers 1994b) indicates that local groups can build the editorial structure (the storyline), write the contents, determine the language and the script to be used, design and prepare the layout, prepare the visuals, and control the processes of printing and distribution in short, that they can exercise all the functions which the literacy agencies undertake on behalf of the learners. It would seem however that this kind of work is not more widely practised because many literacy agencies do not believe that the local groups are capable of doing these things.
The educational value of encouraging individuals or groups of people to engage in the preparation, production and publication of their own materials is enough to justify these projects, even though they are unlikely to last long or to be sustainable.
LGM: THE BANDA MATERIALS PRODUCTION PROJECT, INDIA
The GOI programme Mahila Samakhya (Education for Women's Equality) in Uttar Pradesh collaborated with Jal Niyam, the agency responsible for the installation of village water pumps, to train local women in pump maintenance and repair. Once trained, the women expressed a desire for more information and materials on a range of topics. This led to the Participatory Materials Production Project organised in association with the major centre for innovative approaches to adult literacy established under the National Literacy Mission, the National Institute of Adult Education, Delhi.
The project was based on the belief that if literacy work with women is grounded in local realities and is critical, reflective and dialogical in method, it can be a powerful tool in initiating processes of women's empowerment. The aims included the enhancement of literacy skills of neoliterates by involving them in the creation of their own materials, defining the content, and writing and producing the materials. These materials in turn would help to sustain women's groups, village water committees, sanghas etc, thus creating an environment for learning, strengthen local training, and create an information base which can be used for similar work.
The project started by developing a local newsletter Mahila Dakiya (Woman Postman). A group of neoliterate women, mainly volunteer workers in the pump maintenance programme, and supervisors came together in a three-day residential workshop. The main purpose was to build the confidence of the participants in their ability to write, design and create their own newsletter. Space and time were allowed to discuss and reflect on their work collectively. This shared voice was translated into text when the work of writing, illustrating, reading and editing was undertaken. Discussion, role plays, activities and games were used to make the exercise enjoyable as well as productive.
The issues to be included in the newsletter were identified on the first day through recounting experiences, raising questions and sharing ideas. Understandably water-related activities emerged as the main theme. Role plays comparing the problems and processes of water supply before and after Mahila Samakhya had embarked on the pump project expressed the problems and contradictions faced by these women in their work. Discussions after the role play revealed the impact the programme had had in changing their perceptions of themselves, their families and their community.
Groups were then formed to conceptualise, write and illustrate their ideas in any format and style they chose. Subjects included work done by the water committees, changes in local perceptions towards mechanics, problems of caste, the findings of a survey of water pumps in the area, including their state of repair two years ago and currently, the way in which the pumps had contributed to community development and health. Although the participants were hesitant when they presented their work for the first time, the quality belied their fears. Rich with songs, stories, poems and illustrations, the materials were so many and varied that selection proved difficult. The contents were finalised after discussing each item in terms of creativity, relevance, appeal and information sharing
On the last day, the work of production was completed. The heightened level of excitement and nervousness was tangible as the final version was prepared, items were finalised, illustrations tidied up, the page layout was determined and the material transcribed by those with neater handwriting - many said their hands were shaking as they drew in pencil first and then inked in. There was much merry-making as the paper took shape. The participants could not believe they had actually produced their own newsletter. Writing their name at the bottom of the final page dispelled their disbelief and raised their self confidence. The process of writing, sharing, reworking, and selecting items and themes collectively was an empowering experience.
Two months later, a second workshop was held to produce the second issue and to reinforce the earlier learning experience. A process of team building was initiated in which responsibility for different aspects of production was delegated to members of the group. Comments on problematic issues in the first issue, items not understood or appreciated, or visuals not clear were received to ensure that feedback would become integral to the production process. The paper had been well received and many people found it difficult to believe that these women had actually produced it.
The question of language rose at this time. While everyone agreed that the local dialect would be more easily under-tood by the readers, most of the written work used formal Hindi. The switch to standardised Hindi is almost automatic for all forms of writing. It was agreed that this trend could not be negated but that the language could be made more simple, and that local idiom and dialects should be used wherever possible. The newsletter was not being produced for themselves, and they needed to look beyond their own concerns and preferences to those for whom they were writing. Their roles as communicators was thus discussed -a difficult issue since they were most excited by their own process of creating the paper.
Praise for the efforts of these women has been widespread. During a water committee training course, it was said "News from everywhere gets reported in the newspaper. We had better see that our pump is clean or our village will get a bad name". Other villages wished to know why they had been omitted from the first issue, The medium of communication and information-sharing controlled by the women themselves can act as a pressure group.
When such post-literacy activities get linked with other empowering programmes (in this case water pumps), the result is the creation of a vibrant body of knowledge and material. Literacy and the process of learning reinforce and are in turn reinforced by other processes and programmes leading to the improvement of the quality of life such as access to essential life-needs like water, the ability to bargain for higher wages and better working conditions, or an enhanced status in the family and community.
Some areas of concern emerged from this process of involving people whose literacy skills are still at a fragile stage in such group processes. Some of the participants are so highly motivated that they demand individual attention to develop their own skills of reading and writing. Similarly, there was a need to maintain their feeling of involvement as some of the processes became more technical, for example, during the editing; other activities had to be planned at these stages. Balancing the group dynamics between the neo-literates and the more literate members and catering for the needs of different levels of participants required constant delicate handling. This very variety both added to the richness and varied perspectives of the material produced, and strengthened and energised the group members.
It would also seem that LGM projects in the sense of small-scale groups generating materials out of their own experience - tend to be vulnerable to change and not market-effective. Most such activities emerge and cease of their own volition, often dependent on the enthusiasm of some individual or small group whose focus will in time move to other fields or forms of activity. The Community Book Publishing Project in Zimbabwe is an example of this. But this is also true of most of the donor initiatives in this area: the MicroPrU (Micro-Production Unit) project in Indonesia by which a van fitted with printing facilities visited villages and printed materials written by the villagers seems to have ended when donor funds ceased.
A balance needs to be maintained between the large-scale campaigns and programmes and LGM approaches. Each type of literacy programme has its strengths and weaknesses. Mass literacy programmes find it harder to provide really usable literacy materials than do the local ones - India with its decentralisation of the national literacy programme (including materials production) to Collector (District) level appears to have acknowledged this. But while they may do little for locally-produced culturally sensitive materials production, national programmes will help to create the climate for local programmes to be more effective, raising the profile of literacy work generally and providing a framework and some infrastructure.
Local programmes on the other hand cannot expect to be sustainable at programme level, although they may produce more sustainable literacy practices at the level of the individual or group. It is important not to confuse the different capacities of different literacy programmes.
Our case studies suggest that both forms of LGM (local or learner generated materials) can never be cheap unless they are produced with totally unacceptable quality, even by local standards. They can never be sustainable in the sense of self-supporting. Voluntary effort and low standard reproduction processes can produce materials of a relatively low quality as in Uganda, but even this is dependent on donor funding.
Low cost materials (LCM) are often closely identified with LGM approaches. Most LGM projects (at least in the sense of learner-generated materials) use low-cost production processes, largely because these are the only facilities accessible to local groups.
There are however dangers attached to LCM, as the Kenya Low-Cost Materials Project reveals (see Kenya 1992, Kenya LCCP). LCM here has become an excuse for the literacy agency to cease providing basic literacy materials for learners or instructors, urging instructors to produce their own, and the shoddy productions which are being produced under the guise of the Low-Cost Materials Project are unhelpful in promoting literacy learning.
POST-LITERACY AND LOW-COST MATERIALS PRODUCTION IN KENYA
The Government of Kenya's Department of Adult Education (DAE) addressed the issue of post-literacy from the start of its adult literacy programme (1979). A workshop on post-literacy in 1980 developed a post-literacy programme but it was not fully implemented.
Post-literacy is seen to cover three forms of provision bridging courses for newly literate persons, entrepreneurial training for drop-outs, and further education up to the level of the primary school-leaving certificate. Access to school-leaving examinations is available for private students, and many take this route each year. However, access to formal education is regarded as a minor element in the post-literacy programme, since relatively few will wish to follow this route and it is unlikely to open secondary education to adults who obtain the certificate. The main aim of post-literacy is to provide education for life.
The key problem is seen to lie in the lack of materials for post-literacy (and also for initial literacy). The reason for this is lack of funds. A post-literacy newspaper Kisomo was produced in several languages but ceased when donor support ended. Several local language newspapers were produced by the Ministry of Information with help from UNESCO but today there is only one in Kikuyu, all the others are in KiSwahili. Materials for post-literacy have been produced in draft form (some with UNICEF) but most of these have not been printed.
Initially all literacy materials were provided free to the learners but now there is a substantial charge for these materials (300-400 Ksh p.a.). A Low-Cost Materials Production (LCMP) project was launched with donor support to help meet this need. The 1979 campaign was set up in a hurry, and LCMP was intended to meet the needs for field staff training and materials production. Workshops were held for staff in preparation and production techniques, using duplicators or silk screen printers, making ink from tree leaves. There was reported to be considerable excitement among the field staff, and several wrote up local stories. The aim was to prepare material to supplement those provided by DAE. Some workshops are still run (with donor support) because of a total lack of literacy materials, even primers, in some centres; LCMP has become an excuse not to send materials to the classes. In Rorino, 25 facilitators drafted ten booklets on topics chosen by the teachers after discussion in the workshop. They were handwritten very inadequately and reproduced on duplicators (the silk screen presses seem no longer to be working) and some of them were illegible.
There is a constant demand from adult educators, extension staff and local libraries in the field for material at post-literacy level. A seminar was held in 1992 and a policy was drawn up, a syllabus prepared and some materials drafted - but few have been distributed. DSE ran a nine month training programme (ending in March 1993) on the development of writing skills for post-literacy materials. Following a survey of reading needs and interests conducted by the University of Nairobi and the Board of Adult Education, 20 writers and 7 facilitators attended a series of workshops. The first produced draft materials which were then worked on at home; a second workshop provided training in pre-testing, then the draft materials were tested in the field for four months; a third workshop finalised the materials. Ten booklets in KiSwahili have been prepared. DSE has concentrated on writers' training (both for distance education and post-literacy) but is unable to help with printing and dissemination DAE has no plans to publish or disseminate them It is not clear whether these materials are for individual or group use.
Perhaps as a response to the weaknesses in the state programme, an energetic voluntary organisation has emerged, the Kenya Adult Learners' Association (KALA). It is strongly supported by donors, and learners' organisations are now spreading to other countries. KALA will serve mainly as a pressure group for adult literacy but it plans to produce some materials itself.
'Low cost' can only be assessed in local terms. Some newspaper supplements cost very little, since the equipment and other facilities and staffing used are those which already exist and are being employed for other more commercially viable purposes. In these cases, the quality is that of other locally produced commercial productions. Where low-cost production methodologies have been used, they do not seem to be viable over long periods. The silk screen presses in Kenya established in the 1980s are no longer in use, and elsewhere other similar programmes have apparently not endured.
Part of AIDS leaflet in comic form, South Africa
U NGAYITHOLA KANJANI I-AIDS
· Ungathola i-AIDS ngokulalana nomuntu onegciwane le-AIDS emzimbeni wakhe.· Ungathola i-AIDS managabe ujova ngenalithi noma i reza yomunye onaso lesisifo se-AIDS.
(Izibhedlela manje sezicwaningisisa igazi ngaphambi kokuthi balinikeze umuntu).· Omama bangadlulisela i-AIDS ezinganeni zabo ezingakazalwa gesikhathi bekhulelwe noma beteta.
AWUYITHOLI I-AIDS KULEZIZINTO:
· Endlini yangaphandle
· Ngokonghana
· Ngokuqabulana ezindebeni zomlomo
· Ezinkomishini, ezipunwini, emimeseni, emapulatini, ezinghilazini, nokunye
· Ngokubambana ngezandla
· Ngokuhlamba ebavhini elilodwa
· Ocingweni, noma ezibambeni zeminyango
· Emathawuleni
· Ngokwabelana noma ukushiyelana ukudla
· Ngokudansa
· Ngokukhulumisana nomuntu ophethwe yi-AIDS
· Emakamereni aminyene
· Ngokulunywa omiyane nezinye izilwanyana
Extension materials:
Publishing:
Visual literacy:
Using real materials for literacy:
Other materials which may be used for post-literacy activities were found in all our case studies. They are of two main kinds, extension materials and what we have called 'ordinary' literacy materials.
These consist of materials produced by development agencies as part of their own programmes. We noted many examples in all the countries we visited. For example, UNICEF produces large amounts of material to be read in the towns and villages. In Kenya, KWAHO produces some excellent materials in different languages on water, health and income-generation activities for women's groups. In India, we identified the materials produced by the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP) as an example of this kind of material.
Many government and other service departments issue informative leaflets and posters. It would seem that more of this material relates to health than to any other subject, but agriculture and poverty-relief are also prominent.
There is very little to encourage the users to practise their writing skills among this material. Not all of this material is in a format appropriate to persons whose literacy skills are limited and whose confidence to cope with such literacy materials is weak. But these are matters which could be remedied with some assistance from literacy practitioners. We were impressed by the willingness of many extension agencies to revise the format of their materials so that they will reach a wider audience more effectively and more interactively.
Extension Materials:
BAY OF BENGAL PROGRAMME
The work of BOBP has been described above (page 13). In the course of its activities, BOBP produces materials which could be used for post-literacy activities. Two are of particular relevance.
TECHNICAL LEAFLETS
The Post-Harvest Fisheries Technology Project is an ODA-funded project dealing with innovative ways of handling and marketing fish (fish carrying baskets, ice boxes, motorised cycles, fish drying techniques etc) and the production of other crops (seaweed, shrimps etc). From 1990, the project has produced simple colourful leaflets to go with its projects. The series was inspired by the 'Torry' extension leaflets produced in the UK.
They are prepared spontaneously by one individual, written in English and illustrated, then translated by local contacts into simple Tamil (or other languages as necessary). There are no guidelines for them (e.g. no specific gender policy); pretesting is very informal with locally available persons, field staff and some NGOs in terms of presentation, level and language. The leaflets are regarded as "a very minor part of our work... just a tool", and they are not built into the project planned activities they have not been discussed in project staff meetings, do not appear in project reports or on the agendas of the management committee. There is thus no budget for these leaflets - they are dependent upon the enthusiasm of the project officer (who has now left BOBP). The staff seemed surprised at our interest in them.
The leaflets are printed by offset rather than letter press on very good quality gloss paper. It would seem that Madras is one of the cheapest places in the world for printing, so that print runs can be short; 1000 copies are usually printed at a time, as the run-on costs are only marginally reduced. Because of the high quality and colourwork, the cost of each leaflet is about Rs2.50 which is high compared with some of the other materials and news-sheets printed by letter press.
The leaflets are seen as an aid for the staff engaged in technical training in the field. "The main purpose of our material is to educate the target group on the benefit of using such technologies". The leaflets are given away, and the use of these leaflets does not form any part of the training of the staff. They have also been used to inform other bodies of the work of the project.
Field visits however revealed that, in some places, the leaflets relating to fish-carrying containers had been distributed when the baskets were distributed; they had not been used as intended at the time when the containers were demonstrated. No reference was made to the leaflets by the field staff - they had just been given out free and most had soon been lost. Most of the women who received them could not read but they were able to use the illustrations for their own purposes. For example, some of the women, when refused entry to a bus because they were carrying the new containers, produced the leaflet with its picture of women getting onto a bus with the container and thus were able to gain access to the bus. The women and especially the children liked the strong colours, the plain lay-out and clear illustrations, and on occasion the contents were read to the group by one of the staff or other group members.
Other groups had not seen the leaflets at the time of the training programme or subsequently, but the copies were seized eagerly by the group members and examined avidly, even by those who were unable to read. They suggested that the sari shown in the illustration was "too stylish" for a working woman, an indication of visual literacy. They said that they would like more leaflets but were unable to suggest topics for them except health.
This activity has not been evaluated because of the costs of administration and time involved, and "because this would be to give it more importance than we give if nor does it form part of the overall evaluation of the project. The leaflets have been produced intuitively without field research. Some have been updated when "our antennae tell us they need revision". Donor values are represented in the quality and the format of the leaflets, and this may help to account for their appeal.
Dissemination and use in the field is however recognised as the major weakness of these Materials. They may have some value on their own, for it would seem that the participants can gain much from them without advanced literacy skills, but they are unlikely to be very effective without mediation (discussion and help with interpretation).
Some of the field staff recognised that these leaflets helped to build up the literacy environment. Copies had been sent to SRC but this role had not been developed because literacy does not form part of the concerns of this project. However, the staff concerned felt that help with literacy issues would enable the leaflets to be more used in the field.
COMIC BOOK
As part of its programme of encouraging participatory management of fisheries, BOBP has produced the first of what is planned as a series of extension comic books. The aim is to promote awareness of fishery resources issues and to develop the knowledge base of the fisherfolk. The book "is intended to reach the general fishing community including school-going children and adults in the advanced stages of adult education (literacy) programmes". A comic format was chosen because of "the low literacy level in the area and the complexity of the subject". With lavishly coloured illustrations, the book provides much detailed information, mostly through a story, though some pages are more directly didactic. The aim is to develop community-based resource management rather than literacy skills.
The book was carefully planned, piloted and pretested. The material was composed by an experienced communicator to whom the expert had to explain the subject matter: "it was a painful process". Written first in English, it was translated into literary Tamil and Telugu rather than vernacular forms of these languages. Some changes in illustrations were made to meet the cultural needs of different groups of readers. There was no gender policy in the preparation of these materials.
The book cost Rs30,000 to develop. 30,000 copies were printed (using four-coloured offset printing) at a cost of between Rs4 and Rs5 each raising the print run to 100,000 copies would have reduced the cost to Rs2-3 each. The books are given away free (there is no machinery for villagers to purchase books and no JSNs in these villages).
Several copies have been sent to local community groups in the fishing villages. Copies have also been sent to the SRC, to adult education (literacy) centres and to schools - but there is no current evidence as to how these have been used. No procedures for the use of these books in the village groups have been devised. Some are kept as personal copies; some have been read by a member of the group to the non-literate members. Some sent to women have been passed to men "because it concerns men, not women". The message seems to have been understood in some places: one group said that the dispute described in the storyline between those using traditional and those wishing to use new methods of fishing had been settled in their village some time ago. The evidence as to whether these readers would be willing to pay for their own copy is contradictory; for there is a demand for more materials of this kind, providing information through stories, and other material has been prepared by BOBP.
Feedback was obtained through a questionnaire. A return rate of 37% was received, 20% of these from women. The responses indicated that (with one exception) the messages within the comic book had been understood by between 75% and 90% of the respondents. Almost all said they had found the book useful in understanding fishery management, including the more academic and didactic parts. It would appear that it is possible to convey a high degree of technical complexity and vocabulary in this format so long as the content lies within the experience of the readers.
The main concerns of the producers are with finding creative artists and writers and devising appropriate forms of follow-up. A regular magazine has been under consideration but discussions with commercial publishers suggest this is not viable, partly because this material is unlike the magazines which the existing buying public already purchase, and the poorer people are unlikely to buy material when they do not know what will be in it, and partly because of the lack of distribution machinery in this area.
The book was not planned as literacy materials. While some help with language levels would be welcomed, the main problem was to convey the messages clearly in terms of the target group's own understandings.
4. Wait a minute! Rani has just invested in anew fish container-made of tough aluminium with a tight fitting lid. It's easy to lift and the bus Conductor is now happy to let her put it under the seats - no mess, no smell to put her fellow passengers off!
Part of technical leaflet produced by BOBP, Madras
Part of comic book produced by BOBP (Madras, India) for extension work with fisherfolk in the Bay of Bengal.
2b: Secondly, there are the materials which we have termed 'ordinary' materials (some writers have described these materials as 'authentic' materials). These are materials produced by various bodies to meet local societal needs. Some are of course commercial in origin, seeking to provide news (newspapers, magazines etc) or pleasure (reading books). Some are sales catalogues as in South Africa or advertisements (cinema notices in India etc). Into this category fall the various materials produced by government - for example, forms for a driving licence or a ration card etc. Banks and other bodies also produce such materials for both rural and urban environments. All of these could be used by literacy teachers to help learners master the various literacies needed to cope with real situations. Although it is impossible within the limits of this research project to survey all that is available, even in our case studies what we discovered is very extensive. Such surveys should always be done when assessing the viability of assisting with the production of even more post-literacy materials.
Local publishers are making a substantial contribution in most countries to the provision of 'ordinary' materials, at least for reading. But there are many problems in this field, mainly in terms of making commercial productions accessible in rural areas at a reasonable and yet commercially viable price, even in local terms. There seems to be no single effective process of building up a reading public prepared to spend money on books and booklets. Sustaining such productions in areas where the buying public for books and magazines is insufficient to support them commercially may be a lengthy process. Some areas have had considerable success with magazines, especially when these support local television or films. Assistance provided to such producers with their existing materials may be beneficial in all sorts of ways and might promote more sustainable forms of publishing. One example of donor support to local publishers in Tanzania which could be replicated elsewhere involves the donor agency purchasing and distributing to beneficiary groups a large proportion of the first run of some editions. The print run can then be increased and these materials can in consequence be sold to the buying public more cheaply while at the same time they are made available to populations which they would not otherwise reach.
Many of these real materials make use of pictorial symbols rather than or in addition to letters. There is a growing interest and concern in the field of visual literacy - the ability to decide and interpret drawings or pictorial symbols or colour codes rather than letters and words and sentences, both in the sense of the interpretation of symbols in the environment and also in the use of such symbols in literacy and post-literacy programmes. Examples of visual literacy range from the 'reading' of signs painted on toilet doors to road signs, from 'house styles' adopted by buses and other vehicles to political symbols.
It is generally assumed that illiterate persons can easily interpret such visual literacy materials, which may account for the increasing popularity of comic strips and books as one of the more common tools of extension programmes. The success of Storyteller in South Africa would seem to indicate that in that cultural context, where the mainly urban residents and workers are familiar with visual messages and television, the new readers can access the comic book style. It is thus probable that where visual literacy materials are locally generated using indigenous conventions, then comprehension, even to several levels of meaning, may not be a problem. But the BOBP case study suggests that where material is imported, then the viewing/reading strategies and interpretation will have to be learned.
Assistance is apparently needed with the development of visual literacy skills. Comic books are very complex, and in many cases training is necessary for the intermediaries in order to help people to access these materials. Further study of this complex area is needed before clear recommendations can be made.
Comic Books:
STORYTELLER AND SHARENET, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
The storyteller group is a commercial organisation, set up in 1989 to produce comic books in African ('Black') English, both as independent stories and as message-carrying texts for other organisations. By producing material which is enjoyable to read, they aim to contribute towards the development of a popular reading culture in South Africa. They see the need for a range of stimulating and appropriate texts produced on a large scale.
All their material has strong community action or development themes. 99 Sharp Street, their most successful comic, for example, deals with environmental issues at a global as well as a more local level. Mixed teams of black and white writers and artists develop the materials. They seek to reflect real-life experience and to create characters which readers can identify with, by basing their work on real situations. The tone of their material is "dialogic" rather than presenting one didactic truth. This is achieved by introducing into the stories a variety of characters with different viewpoints to represent different voices in any debate. They aim to represent a complex environment both visually and in the diverse messages inherent in the stories. Their work is preceded by lengthy research to record as many voices and means of expression and local language forms as possible. Workshops are held in the townships in which local groups play out pre-set themes. These are then written up into comic strips using street language and popular reference points-with differences in register between the street dialogue in the voice bubbles and the standard English in the narrative between the frames.
The first major publications (prepared in collaboration with Sharenet) began as an insert in the Sales House CLUB magazine, a quarterly mail-order catalogue distributed free. Storyteller suggested an adult comic within the magazine but were asked instead to prepare one for children. 99 Sharp Street proved so successful that Storyteller produced an independent issue, The River of Our Dreams. This was followed by Love and Aids, an adult comic dealing with AIDS prevention, Mhundi, another comic, and a variety of community association magazines (notably Voice of the SCA, a magazine for the Alexandria township with an insert by ESCOM on the safe use of electricity and meters). Most are given away free. When River of Our Dreams was published, the intention was to distribute one million copies, three quarters to a broad popular audience and one quarter to a more focused educational audience. Eventually 350,000 copies were produced at a cost of R300,000 and were sent out free through newspapers, magazines, schools, libraries, existing groups such as PPA, church and environmental groups, and literacy classes. Some were advertised for sale.
Storyteller see these materials as both leisure reading and a flexible educational resource. Thus 99 Sharp Street encourages participative reading, with 'write-on' pages and 'search-and-find' activities. Library and teaching packs accompany some of these materials, and training is offered to teachers in different methods of exploiting comics as a learning resource.
SHARENET, UMGENI NATURE RESERVE, was set up in 1990 with funding from shell, gold fields and the South African Nature Foundation to develop environmental education. It is a networking organisation intended to encourage resource development by teachers' groups and local communities and to foster joint resource development among conservation and environmental education agencies through the sharing of skills and ideas and the empowering of teachers to develop and evaluate their own materials. They produce materials themselves and make them available on disk to facilitate the reworking of them by other organisations to reflect local situations; and they offer support and advice in low-cost publishing to other bodies.
Sharenet produces materials for use in reserves and schools in a variety of formats - books, booklets, charts, hands-on materials etc. Most have graphics, with text in English with the occasional vernacular word bracketed to introduce new English terms. They feel the expressed need for vernacular materials is a myth created by academics and development agencies. Sharenet collaborated with Storyteller on the production and distribution of River of Our Dreams and in the training of teachers and group leaders in isolated rural areas in the mediation of this comic and in the setting up of environmental pressure groups. The two organisations also collaborated on the production of the water-slide for testing water pollution (readers were invited to write in for this slide).
Both Storyteller and Sharenet have been extensively evaluated. Surveys reveal that River of Our Dreams was read by a wide audience from a traditionally non-reading culture. Such comics are felt to be successful in all three aspects, as leisure reading, as a message-carrying medium and as an educational resource, and appeal to adults as well as to children beyond the townships in which they are set.
Readers who wrote in response to competitions indicate that the use of complex visual material is not a problem in an urban environment where readers are familiar with television, animation and visual advertising. Storyteller feel that new readers need more, not less, visually sophisticated material.
Sharenet claim their findings confirm the transferability and appeal of township language in rural areas, the need for thorough preparatory research, the value of comics as an educational medium, the embedding of messages in stories, and the value of consulting people on what they like to read. Sharenet indicates that, with creative marketing, funding and dissemination need not be problems. "If the people want something enough, they will find a way to get it" through local informal means. As an example, they point to mail-order catalogues which reach the remotest areas. The production of materials needs to be sustainable if the project is to survive in the long term.
Water slide produced by the Umgeni Trust to promote the use of clean water, South Africa
Part of 99 Sharp Street produced by Soryteller, South Africa (A)
Part of 99 Sharp Street produced by Soryteller, South Africa (B)
* Offer valid as long as stocks last
Sponsors:
The Storyteller Group would like to thank Prof. Peter Thuynsma, the Wits Foundation and all the sponsors who made this reading promotion possible: Rockefeller Brothers' Fund, Anglo American and de Beers Chairman's Fund, US AID, Shell SA, Johannesburg Consolidated Investments, Standard Bank Foundation, Southern Life Association, ICI, Carlton Paper, Afrox, and TML.
The link between these real materials and the literacy needs of the people to whom they are directed is very rarely made. We found no development programmes using any of their materials, instruction leaflets or extension posters, for the enhancement of literacy, although some agencies which have produced this kind of material do pay some attention to the literacy requirements of their users when preparing them. Equally, very few literacy agencies use any of this material, even when it is available, for their classes, although some integrated rural development agencies do use post-literacy materials to assist with their extension work.
Adapting real materials: The use of these real materials for the practice of literacy raises a major issue. It is not clear how these materials can be assessed in terms of their usefulness for promoting literacy, or how they might be adapted to the needs of new literacy practitioners. Criteria imported from the formal school system such as the vocabulary used or the length of sentences or the complexity of ideas, which are sometimes used, are now felt to be inappropriate to adult learning programmes. Levels of 'readability' have to a large extent been discredited and replaced with more careful gradings of 'learner difficulty': for example, lack of experience may be a greater barrier than the vocabulary used (Moon 1993). Similar approaches could be used with effect in adult literacy. But clearly such learner difficulties will be local rather than absolute.
Modern understandings of adult literacy indicate that adults do not need to learn literacy in a linear progression from simple words to more complex words. Their more normal progression is from concrete to more abstract. Adults, like many children, will learn to cope effectively with elaborate vocabularies and concepts if these are felt to be relevant to them, e.g. agriculture, fishing or well known films etc. Some simplification of language is necessary. Industrialised countries have come to appreciate this for many of their materials such as government forms, insurance certificates, consumer items and legal documents - the Plain English Campaign is one such example. Some adaptation to layout in terms of size of print and line length will also often need to be made: most people read newspaper headlines more easily than the smaller text underneath. Devices designed to help new readers to cope with difficult material such as headlines, sub-headings, key words etc need to be included. This is a field for further research, calling for practical experimental studies into the best ways to assist with the adaptation of 'ordinary' materials and to ascertain whether or not there are similarities in different contexts.
Most of those who produce or promote the distribution of these extension and ordinary materials assume that those who receive them need no assistance in order to use them. Technical leaflets are printed and issued without adequate steps being taken to ensure they reach the right hands or are interpreted accurately by those who do receive them. Like newspapers, they are 'cast upon the waters' to be used in any way which those into whose possession they come choose to use them - this may not even be literacy (newspapers for instance may be used not only for reading but for wrapping up items or for padding etc). Books and booklets are circulated generally throughout the community. Brochures and leaflets and government notices and tracts are passed from hand to hand or sent to local groups without any attempt being made to ensure that they are properly discussed. They are seen as independent materials, and those who receive them are deemed to be independent users. The effect that this has on the relatively low levels of confidence of the early literacy practitioner can be imagined many will find that they cannot cope with this material and will therefore be deterred from trying again with other material they may come across.
Dissemination:
Under-utilisation:
Participants:
Training for post-literacy:
Evaluation of post-literacy activities and materials:
Income-generation programmes:
One of the major problems our case studies revealed with all these materials, both special and real, is that they are often not generally available to the learner groups at the points where they could benefit from them most, during their literacy programmes. It is this which accounts for the general impression that materials for the practice of literacy are often unavailable. Demands for action to "build a literate environment" rely upon an assumption that supply of materials will create a demand for literacy practices - an assumption which needs to be tested. It may well be a more effective way of building a literate environment by identifying and bringing into the local community the real materials which already exist than creating and distributing new materials.
Even when some of the ordinary material does reach the environment of the people of the towns and many of the villages (e.g. cinema notices in India, mail-order catalogues in South Africa), these are not always recognised by literacy agencies, literacy instructors or by learners as appropriate for the practice of literacy. Training and networking are needed to assist literacy practitioners to identify these materials as being of use to them in their programmes.
Even in the case of post-literacy materials specifically produced by literacy agencies, the distribution is often poor. Many of the producers told us that although they were generating a good deal of material, it was not getting out into the field or, once there, it was not being used effectively in the post-literacy programmes, even in those cases where the infrastructure is relatively good. The dissemination of extension materials is often equally weak. Local collections of materials (rural resource centres or village libraries) are often lacking or, where they do exist, are usually inadequately resourced or staffed (Tanzania, Kilindo). Where they exist, such library staff are very rarely trained adequately for their many and varied tasks. The Kerala Village Libraries are an exception and, despite the current political difficulties, reveal the potential of such a provision, although we note that these reading rooms are intended for those who are experienced enough to read on their own without help, and that once again they contain few activities which require writing. A different approach is that of Sharenet in South Africa which believes that materials suitably adapted can stimulate consumer demand: instead of the people coming to the materials in classes or groups or libraries, the materials are sent out to the local (mainly urban and peri-urban) communities and homes (Bahr and Rifkin 1992).
Village Libraries:
INDIA: JSNs and KERALA VILLAGE LIBRARY MOVEMENT
Local reading rooms, often called JSNs, ("an institutionalised framework for post-literacy based on the Tanzanian model of folk schools") were established in 1988 in most states in India. Based on rural centres, youth clubs, farmers training centres, women's centres etc, they formed part of the National Adult Education Programme (NAEP). They have been identified by the National Literacy Mission as a key instrument for post-literacy. One JSN is recommended for every 5000 adult population (4-5 adjacent villages). Not every district has JSNs. In Tamil Nadu, it is reported that they are "most viable at centres of local government (panchayats and unions) rather than at cluster level"; but "the future expansion of the JSNs appears to be very doubtful at least for the present". In Districts where the Total Literacy Campaign has operated, there is a demand for each village to have its own post-literacy centre rather than a JSN. Clusters of 30-40 learners have on occasion been established but their relationship to JSNs is not clear. JSNs have been put under local government control but there is no assured funding for them, no system to link JSNs together, no structure for their support and no systematic training for their supervisors.
JSNs are managed by a local committee and a part-time prerak (usually a woman). The aims of JSNs are to "ensure the retention of literacy skills, to provide facilities for learners to continue their learning beyond elementary literacy, and to create scope for them to apply their learning for the improvement of their living conditions". They are meant to house evening classes, discussions groups, recreation and cultural activities, games and sports as well as to hold and disseminate development information, provide a blackboard newspaperas well as to service the literacy classes in the area - but few do all of this. Some JSNs have been equipped with new technology as demonstration centres.
Some receive considerable support from local communities and NGOs. Activities and resources therefore vary greatly. Some have about 150 loans per week; others have none or very few. Where they exist and work well, they provide a major function in small communities as a meeting place and library centre (reading, not writing). Women tend to use them during the day, men in the evenings. In Madras, one or two have become outlets for the purchase of books and magazines.
The Kerala Village Libraries are on a different scale. The wide spread of these centres is much older than the JSNs and is based on a remarkable nineteenth century library movement. In 1943 the Kerala Library Association was formed and the movement grew from there as the state of Kerala was formed between 1947 and 1958.
Thus for most of its history, the Kerala Library Movement has been an independent professional association. It had a statewide organisation at various levels. The state government supported the association in the provision of libraries throughout the state.
In the early 1970s, the Kerala Library Association launched a state-wide functional literacy campaign with some support from the state government, and in 1975, it won the UNESCO Literacy Award. But this movement did not meet with full support inside the Association and later the literacy programme split off under the auspices of the Kerala Association for Non-Formal Education and Development (KANFED).
From the late 1970s, the Kerala Village Library Association has become involved with state politics and the association's constitution has been suspended. A new constitution has been in process of formulation for many years. The village libraries are now run by a Control Board established by the state government.
The village libraries in general have been used by those who are reasonably well educated. They house materials for independent study and reading, but other activities such as sports are also on occasion organised by these centres. It is generally believed that the high rate of literacy in the state (above 90% in 1990) is due to these library centres and reading rooms and that equally they are meeting a demand created by the high literacy levels in the state.
Some agencies have tackled the problem of dissemination, especially those which issue newspapers or newspaper supplements. But even in these cases, there are signs of the lack of appropriate use of these materials. Thus very few supplementary materials are found to be used in the initial literacy classes: GSS in Bangladesh (Rogers 1994b) and ELP in South Africa (Makue and Steinberg 1993) are notable exceptions. Most post-literacy programmes on the ground are simply the continuation of formal literacy instruction for a further period, using a limited range of books of much the same model as the primer but at what the literacy agency deems is a more advanced level. Both FIVDB in Bangladesh and the Tanzania post-literacy programme, for example, seek to teach the learners a further number of words to add to those which they have already learned during the initial primer-based literacy instruction (Jennings 1984). There is relatively little attempt to use this literacy in real situations - real reading, real writing, real calculations.
Most post-literacy programmes and activities however only reach those who are in formal post-literacy groups - and these are but a minority of all those who have attended adult literacy classes. Even less help is extended to those in the community who have some but limited skills of reading and writing gained through primary school or earlier adult education programmes. These are usually left to fend for themselves in coping with the real literacy materials which they find in their social environment. They may seek help from others in the community more competent than themselves on an informal basis, and some look to local resource centres for help. But in most countries there is no general programme of help for these people.
Creating and using post-literacy materials BANGLADESH: TWO CASE STUDIES
FIVDB
Friends in Village Development, based at Sylhet, Bangladesh, is one of the largest NGOs in Bangladesh. It has several divisions relating to different aspects of rural development, including Functional Education in which the adult literacy programme is located. It has a large publishing programme and is noted for its materials for development. Materials are written in-house and printed by commercial printers in Dhaka in large numbers - 5000 copies of its monthly magazines and 10,000 copies of some of its development materials. Many are given away free, others are sold to other organisations. FIVDB literacy staff say that they are servicing some 180 other literacy NGOs as well as running their own literacy programme.
FIVDB works in village clusters with its own training centres. Local animators are recruited in health, credit groups, literacy etc to work with village groups of 25-50 members. 60% of the groups are for women, 40% are for men. Group members make five promises, one of which is to become literate.
There are some 300 FIVDB literacy classes in operation. Initial literacy classes of 15-20 learners meet for some two hours on six days a week for six months. Post-literacy groups (for fewer learners) meet twice a week for a further three months. A higher percentage of the men than of the women stay on for post-literacy but since there are more women than men in the initial programmes, there are still more women than men in post-literacy classes. The same animator teaches initial and post-literacy groups. Animators are trained by FIVDB or another agency; and a post literacy orientation programme of 2-3 hours is provided.
Post-literacy is taught in the same way as initial literacy primers are used in both stages. The literacy programme is based on a vocabulary approach - 340 words at initial stage, a further 214 words at post-literacy stage. The words are chosen by the staff, not the learners. Learners pay one taka for initial literacy primers, but post-literacy primers are given away free "to keep their interest". Learners can take the books home, and at post-literacy stage "homework" is set to develop the habit of reading at home. Other materials (such as newspapers) are not used in either classes.
FIVDB has produced large amounts of post-literacy materials. Noting that other agencies have developed materials with development messages in them, FIVDB has concentrated on 'cultural materials'. Its newspaper contains stories and jokes and poems written by readers. Their story books are very popular, and one has developed into a cult figure, with other agencies writing stories about the central character. Stories from other countries have been adapted. Comic books on immunisation, dramas, technical bulletins on child care and livestock have also featured in this publishing programme. Four national workshops for neo-literate writing have been held. A competition was launched inviting stories centred around a series of cartoons of goats fighting on a bridge which were printed in the newspaper - 270 stories were written, 80% by learners in classes, two thirds by women. FIVDB printed 34 of these stories in a book which is sold for 3 takas (women earn 10- 15 takas per day, men 35 takas). One problem with encouraging writing among rural women is the lack of an efficient and cheap postal service - it costs 2 takas to post a letter.
A village library (usually a cupboard in someone's home not always the home of the 'librarian') has been established in some centres. It is stocked with materials from FIVDB and other sources. Members pay a small amount to join and to borrow but some centres have ceased to function effectively.
After the post-literacy stage, classes cease but groups continue to meet weekly for informal discussion. Literacy (which has formed part of FIVDB's programme since 198 1) used to be the entry point for many groups but now field staff are more hesitant about the value and effectiveness of literacy programmes. The staff in the Functional Education division feel marginalised.
BANGLADESH: GSS
GSS is a general development NGO with a substantial programme of rural schools. Adult literacy has been added to this programme at the request of local groups.
The literacy programme lasts for nine months, classes meeting for two hours on five or six days each week. Classes are conducted and primers written on a Freirean model of conscientization. In 1987, GSS was threatened with closure and in 1993, there was a threat to ban GSS textbooks; at the request of government, the texts were revised.
GSS has trained its animators to use active learning methods in their literacy classes. Many different materials (story books, 'real' materials etc) are used in the classes, and individual reading practice is conducted with all the learners in every lesson. The aim is "sustainable literacy".
A monthly newspaper is printed in 2500 copies. Five copies are sent to each centre. These are free for the first year but after this the group will need to pay one taka for it, although it costs 2 takas to produce. Although individuals are able to buy it, GSS prefers group use of the newspaper. The paper is aimed to reach all the learners, different pages being written at different literacy levels: page 1 contains materials aimed at readers on stage 1 of the literacy programme, while the last page contains items written by readers printed in their own handwriting. GSS hopes this will fill the gap between the commercial press and the "no-press" of the villages.
GSS is about to start a six-month post-literacy (continuing education) programme. Village reading centres are also planned in an extended school provision. Some 80 small libraries have already been set up in GSS primary schools.
Those who provide assistance to others whose literacy skills are relatively under-developed have received little or no training for this purpose. In our case studies, we found virtually no training for literacy instructors in post-literacy, although we were informed that in one or two places such training does - or did - exist. Discussion with the literacy agencies revealed that where training for post-literacy is made, after all the rhetoric has been cut away, in practice it amounts to a few days or hours of orientation or updating on the new materials which have been specially prepared for post-literacy. It is generally assumed that the process of instruction is the same in the post-literacy stage as in the primer literacy stage. Very few of those charged with the custody and development of local libraries or resource centres have been adequately trained. Many agencies do not believe such training is necessary.
Nevertheless the training of all those concerned with the provision of post-literacy activities would pay great dividends in many different ways. It should be regarded as a development programme in its own right. The effects that this programme is having on the grass-roots teachers, on those concerned with local libraries and resource centres, and on the community leaders who are involved in the literacy programmes are very considerable. These people are as much the beneficiaries of development as they are agents of development.
There are noticeably fewer attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of post-literacy activities and materials than of the initial literacy programmes, whether seen in terms of the enhancement of literacy skills, increased economic benefits, or the achievement of development goals. Tanzania has perhaps done most in this field, and the UIE research project and workshops (UIE 1990-3) were in part intended to encourage more rigorous forms of evaluation of post-literacy and continuing education. Some of the newspapers have been evaluated (Chambers 1992; Learn with Echo 1991-2). Evidence of substantial and on occasion unexpected enhancements in the quality of life of those who used these programmes and materials does exist, coming mainly from the real materials rather than the special post-literacy materials, but most of it is anecdotal. More work is needed in this field.
We found no clear evidence that literacy and post-literacy programmes in themselves have brought clear economic benefits to the users - although this must remain a tentative judgment since most of the literacy projects we examined were aimed at the enhancement of literacy skills and were not in fact designed to bring relief from poverty except in indirect ways. In every country, a number of income-generating activities and training programmes accompany literacy and post-literacy programmes, specifically designed to bring economic benefits and independence to the learners. These often go under the title of 'post-literacy'. But these are almost always separate from the literacy and post-literacy instruction and they frequently contain little or no literacy practice in them, although they may occur with the same group of participants (Rogers 1994a). The value of these income-generation programmes as tools of post-literacy is very doubtful, although they often have considerable economic benefit in their own right.
Amader Lekha/our writings/a learner generated follow up material
Picture published by FIVDB to promote the writing of stories, Bangladesh
