International Literacy Day

Damascus, ST- The war did not let us forget our obligation towards teaching the elderly. Therefore, it was necessary to give more attention to teaching the elderly to face the repercussions of the war on Syria, especially when many schools were destroyed in various Syrian territories that suffered from terrorism.

“Literacy and teaching the elderly ” was the title  of a seminar held by the Directorate of Cultural Development and teaching the elderly  at the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of International Literacy Day.

The recommendations and proposals during the symposium that was held in the Cultural Center in Abo Rummana with the participation of a number of heads of departments of the Adult Education Directorate and the associations working in this field, focused on the importance of drawing an literacy map in society, geographically and socially by preparing tools for collecting social survey data and coordinating with popular organizations and educational complexes to achieve this target.

The proposals stressed the need to review the financial system and compensation for teachers who specialized in teaching the elderly for developing learning programs through television or internet channels. In addition to  open night schools and focus on women’s literacy and implementing  special workshops on how to deal with people with disabilities and integrate them into society.

The director of teaching the elderly, Ziad Maiman, stated that   many problems arose due to the war years in Syria, including the spread of illiteracy, as a result of the destruction of most schools due to terrorism. Thus, many students were forced to leave their schools. Maiman also pointed out that working in this field requires great efforts from all concerned parties according to studied and effective plans, revealing that the Directorate intended to launch a national literacy campaign in cooperation with relevant official ministries and institutions.

Salha al-Hajaly, the head of al-Sweida directorate reviewed a work plan for 2020 through cooperation with the Students’ Union, so that the teachers in the literacy schools will be university students.

The director of the cultural center, Rabab Ahmed, considered that literacy is one of the most serious problems facing peoples and that its solution must be one of the priorities of society.

The world celebrates International Literacy Day set by UNESCO for the purpose of raising awareness of the importance of literacy as a matter of human dignity, respect for human rights and access to societies which have more experiences with literacy studies, skills and plans.

M.Wassouf