A day's regional consultative meeting on adult and non-formal education last Wednesday concluded at the Armitage Senior School in Central River Region South.

Sponsored by the Community Skills Improvement Project (CSIP), the consultative meeting was meant to bring together people in the region to contribute to the National Policy on Literacy Document  2005-2015.  In his opening remarks at the start of the meeting, Alhagie Ganyie Touray, the governor of the Central River Region, highlighted the high illiteracy rate in the country particularly in the rural areas.  He noted that literacy is crucial in the acquisition of essential life skills that will enable people to address challenges. He said it also represents an essential step in basic education.  

Governor Touray then called on the participants to contribute to the successful implementation of the policy. The principal education officer for adult and non-formal education, Madam Saffiatou Savage-Sidibeh, said the purpose of the nationwide consultative meeting is for the outcome to be  included in the national policy document.  She said that adult and non-formal education is being neglected in the Education For All (EFA) goals, noting that EFA goal number four clearly calls for achieving a 50% improvement in level of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.

The regional director of schools in Region Five, Baboucarr Suwareh, who chaired the occasion, said the importance of the consultative meeting cannot be over-emphasised and urged the participants to participate fully as their input will be important in the policy.