Sir, It is time to put adult education on an equal basis within the education system. In your Special Supplement for the European Year of Lifelong Learning, the Minister for Education states that her department naturally puts emphasis on first, second and third level education. This emphasis on education for the earlier period of life may have been naturally suited to a society which was relatively slow moving, but it is inappropriate in a time of rapid change. The department has a responsibility to develop an education system which emphasises and supports the development of people throughout their lives. This is crucial not only for the health of the adult population, but also for the care of the next generation and for the direction that society will take. Both of these tasks are the direct responsibility of our adult community.
The Minister suggests that adult literacy schemes are an example of an area within adult education which has had a recent expansion in funding. The department budget, which funds both adult literacy and community education, was Pounds 1,918 m. in 1995 and is Pounds 1,995 m. in 1996, an increase of Pounds 77,000 (4 per cent). This totally inadequate level of funding will ensure that adult literacy provision remains in the periphery of education.
There is an urgent need for a national literacy policy which recognises the needs and aspirations of adult learners and acknowledges this important work which is central to the health of our society. Adult literacy schemes provide adults with the tools of reading and writing in the context of personal development and critical thinking. Many adults who have difficulties with reading and writing have a sense of being generally unable to participate in a literate society. The lack of a national literacy policy is reflected in a situation where the voluntary tutor gift time far exceeds the contribution by the Department of Education and where there is no integrated approach to progression for adult learners. Many local literacy schemes struggle to provide basic resources for their learners and volunteer tutors who often work in premises which are totally inappropriate to adult learners. - Yours, etc.,
Chairperson,
National Adult Literacy
Agency,
76 Lower Gardiner Street,
Dublin 1.