International Literacy Day Celebrated in Balkh
The International Literacy Day ceremony was held on September 21, organized by the Directorate of Education, the Afghan National Association for Adult Education (ANAFAE), DVV International and the LIFE coordination group, a group of important national literacy education activists.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of local people, NGOs and employees of government entities including the education department, literacy department, provincial governor office, provincial council, department of anti-corruption, directorate of economy, security department, directorate of women affairs, religious council, and provincial national security department, as well as by district governors and district education department manager and students.
The ceremony was started with some verses of holy Quran, and followed by the national anthem.
This year, literacy education organizations in Afghanistan and worldwide celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Literacy Day.
Starting the presentations of the ceremony program, Mr. Abdul Aziz Azizi, the Balkh provincial education director, delivered his speech and also the education ministry’s message. The message focused on the elimination of illiteracy, and on the immediate steps literacy department employees should take to reduce illiteracy problems in coming years.
Mr. Azizi said that the Balkh education department strongly supports the literacy programs, and as much as possible will not spare any effort in doing so.
He stated that it is clear to all that the illiteracy level is above 50% in our country and needs a nationwide movement to mobilize existing facilities and resources in order to make it possible to eliminate illiteracy in the near future. He expressed appreciation of the good relations and cooperation among the partners, praised ANAFAE as a part of it, and added that whenever we made requests for their cooperation they have agreed.
Afterwards, Mr. Saleh Mohammad Khaliqyar, the acting director of literacy department, reported the latest on literacy activities that have taken place in the province. According to him, in the provincial literacy department there are 190 literacy teachers and field supervisors; in addition, there are one literacy high school and one literacy middle school active in Balkh province. He expressed thanks to the partner NGOs, especially ANAFAE and the coordination group conducting the ceremony event.
Mr. Mohammad Ishaq Sarwary, the director of finance directorate and acting deputy governor of Balkh province, was another speaker. Mr. Sarwary praised part of the performance of the education directorate, but at the same time strongly criticized the function of literacy department. He insisted that the literacy department’s performance should be assessed by a commission to help solve the problems in this entity. Similarly, he stated that the procedure which is under process in the National Literacy Department is not effective and we should adopt a new method.
Next, Dr. Mohammad Afzal, the chairman of Balkh provincial council, delivered his speech. Mr. Afzal congratulated all for the International Literacy Day and added that we will support the national literacy department to the extent possible but the support is not enough. He called for more serious efforts in literacy education and also expressed his appreciation toward the NGO partners, especially ANAFAE, for their good efforts.
Ms. Shahla Hadid, the chairman of the directorate of women affairs was another speaker in this event. Ms. Hadid said that supporting the literacy programs demanded all entities to allocate budget to educate their support staff, especially the women, who should be focused in literacy programs because they are the deprived members of the community.
In accordance with the ceremony agenda, the ANAFAE field representative Mohammad Dawood also spoke in the ceremony. He termed the partners’ cooperation with National Literacy Department effective, and said that their performance is tangible and realizable. Still, he pointed out that some problems exist, such as insecurity, lack of coordination of the NGOs and the program implementation locations, and complicated protocol processes that are not yet well focused. He suggested that the relevant authorities turn the attention of the international community in major national and international conferences to literacy. According to him, the weak structure of the literacy department and its lack of employees in the face of the high figures of illiteracy, and the non-existence of a penalty and award system are factors that have led to the reduction of NGOs programs in literacy, even though the NGOs are committed to keeping their activities as long as the donor supports continue.
On behalf of the Religious Council, Abdul Rauf Tawana delivered a speech. He said: until the literacy programs instill moralities which are not focused on materialism and make them prevalent at the national level, it is impossible that illiteracy be eliminated.
In addition, the Balkh provincial council and provincial education directorate gave the appreciation certificate to ANAFE for its well performance in literacy section.
The ceremony’s expenses were provided by the partners and other intellectual individuals.
The ANAFAE was responsible for printing of the big banner and a few small banners, for printing and distributing the invitation cards to the participants and the appreciation letters, and for producing the visual items which were broadcasted.
