LIFE TEACHES US TO LEARN

On 8 September, the world marks International Literacy Day. In a resolution adopted at its 14th session, the UNESCO General Conference acknowledged the need for combined international efforts to promote literacy throughout the world. As part of celebrations to mark International Literacy Day this year, the main theme is the role of literacy in expanding the rights of, and opportunities for, women. Literacy changes the lives of women, their families, circle and society. Literate women are more likely to send their children, especially girls, to school. Having mastered literacy, women become more financially self-reliant and actively participate in the social, political and cultural life of their country. There is every reason to believe that investing in women's literacy yields significant dividends in terms of development.

The presence of this problem in the modern world seems absurd, but according to international data, there are more than 860 million illiterate people in the world today and more than 10 million children who do not go to school. The number of children, young people and adults covered by school or other educational programmes does not match the level required for literacy in the modern world, which is becoming more and more complex.

There is a clear need for literacy programmes aimed at students requiring special attention, primarily women and girls left out of school. Where men and boys are deprived of quality education, they also need special attention.

In Azerbaijan, the literacy rate - the ability to read and write at the age of 15 years and more - is 98.8 per cent (men - 99.5 per cent and women - 98.2 per cent) while the global figure is 77 per cent. Compared with Azerbaijan's neighbours, this figure is quite acceptable. For example, in Armenia the figure is 97.5 per cent, in Russia 99.8 per cent and Iran 82.3 per cent. However, Azerbaijan still has problems in this sphere which is recognized by the State Commission on Student Admission. According to the head of the State Commission, Maleyka Abbaszada, the situation in the south of the country is quite alarming. For example, according to statistics for 2010, 14,617 boys were admitted to university and 13,804 girls, i.e. there is a small difference. But at the same time, only a small portion of secondary school graduates from the southern regions of Azerbaijan took the entrance examinations.

"In the southern regions, the number of girls who apply to universities hardly reaches 20 per cent of the total number of applicants. For example, in Yardimli District only 533 people applied in 2010, of whom 483 were boys and 52 girls. That is, girls are not thinking about going to university," Abbaszada said.

The reason is the adverse situation in the girls' families. They often cannot even finish high school and get secondary education. Instead, they are forced to think from childhood about early marriage, which will secure their future. There is no need to study for this. The families of the bride and groom come to an agreement, and girls aged 15-16 are married according to religious rites. Needless to say, the plight of children, especially girls who were born in such families, is a foregone conclusion. They, like their mothers, will be barred from school from around the third or fifth grades.

The parents of these children often cite financial difficulties in the family. They do not want to educate their children and invest in their education. Some rural teachers recognize that they literally have to go door to door to persuade parents to send their daughters to school. However, as a rule, these families are very aggressive and do not respond to any arguments.

It is surprising that this is taking place in a country that pays great attention to the development of education at all levels. The state allocates huge funds to school construction, providing them with modern computer equipment, encourages teachers to go to work in remote mountain areas, etc. It is no accident that in 2008, Azerbaijan was selected by UNESCO as the venue for a regional conference on the theme "Addressing Literacy Challenges in Europe with a Sub-regional Focus: Building Partnerships and Promoting Innovative Approaches". It was held under the patronage of Azerbaijan's first lady, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, MP Mehriban Aliyeva. The then director general of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, pointed to the high literacy rate of the Azerbaijani population, noting that today the situation in this area is bad even in some European countries. For example, in Italy, according to average statistical data, the level of education leaves something to be desired. Some 782,000 people are illiterate, six million went to primary schools for a short time or unsuccessfully, while 20 million, which is 36.5 per cent of the Italian population, have serious problems with spelling and reading elementary texts, as well as knowledge of Italian. And this is happening not in one of the poorest African countries, but in one of the developed European countries.

Therefore, in 2002 the UN General Assembly proclaimed a Literacy Decade, which started on 1 January 2003. In a special resolution, the General Assembly welcomed the International Plan of Action and decided that UNESCO should take a coordinating role to promote and strengthen activities undertaken as part of the Decade at the international level.