TRIPLE E TRAINING HOLDINGS

Illiteracy prevents many South Africa’s from achieving their full potential. Without the skills required for reading and writing these citizens are doomed to a life of manual labour and cannot become truly productive members of their communities. Illiteracy results in both low self esteem and low productivity, both of which have negative effects on social structure and business productivity. If South Africa is to become a competitive force in the global economic environment and build a better life for all its people then adult basic education programs must be aggressively rolled out across the country. Only when these programs are a fact of life for business can we expect real growth, both for our citizens and for the country itself.

ABET is an essential for South Africa, not just a nice to have. The legacy of Apartheids Bantu educational system has left an entire generation without the basic literacy skills they require in order to achieve a level of human dignity that will see South Africa take its rightful place in the community of nations. Adult Basic education and training is not only the responsibility of government, but must be a cooperative effort between government and private enterprise. It is only through this cooperation that illiteracy can be eradicated and the injustices of the past rectified. ABET means a better future for all the citizens of South Africa.

South Africa has an estimated 3.3 million illiterate adults. A percentage of the population that is far too high for a country that is striving to overcome decades of social and educational injustice. If this situation is allowed to continue the attitudes of this portion of the population will inevitably impact the young learners of today. For this reason Adult Basic Education and Training programs are being rolled out aggressively not only in urban centres throughout the country, but in rural areas where the problem has traditionally been even worse. Both business and government have shown their commitment to the ABET concept and this is today showing dividends in an increasingly literate populace.

Illiteracy in South Africa is a problem that affects each and every citizen in the country. Even if you can read those around you who lack basic reading and writing skills cannot contribute to the economy of the country in any meaningful way. This means that these citizens are a burden to the government and civil society and cannot earn an income which would generate any tax to help with the upkeep of the communities where they live. Most often these people will not have a bank account and will never in their lives be able to apply for a skilled job.

Although the media have not explored the topic, economists frequently tie South African economic stagnation to adult illiteracy among the country’s disadvantaged groups. Continuing illiteracy among South Africa’s minorities threatens the nation’s continued economic development because it depends on people’s command of language.

Although South Africa boasts a high literacy rate, which is one of the highest in the industrialized world, the disadvantaged minorities lag behind their European counterparts by a significant margin. Naturally, their lack of English language proficiency limits their educational achievement and reliable studies indicate that the majority of bilingual South Africans remain illiterate in both their primary languages and English.

In the same way that South Africa rose above its bitter racial divisions in the 1990’s, it now must rise above its educational divisions in the new millennium. The nation now must take aggressive steps to eliminate illiteracy.