Vol. 487 No. 2
4 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the finding of the international adult literacy survey results for Ireland; the proposals, if any, he has for urgently addressing the major problems revealed in that survey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3603/98]
The finding that approximately 25 per cent of Irish adults aged between 16 and 65 have very low levels of literacy was unexpected and is a cause for grave concern. It showed that a considerable number of adults would benefit greatly from further education.
The results of the survey for Ireland, which was the first of its kind ever carried out in this country, were published on 28 October last. At the publication the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy O'Dea, stated that adult education had not been given the priority it deserved. In seeking to correct the situation as a matter of urgency, he set the following objectives: (a) he intends to increase public awareness of the importance of literacy in the modern world; (b) he will set out proposals in the forthcoming Green Paper on Adult Education which will develop a proper policy framework on all aspects of adult education and will give priority to those who left the formal system without qualifications; and (c) he will ensure that adequate funding will be made available to support a wide range of adult education services and will insist that priority is given to adult basic education.
As an immediate response to the report, a significant increase was made in the 1997 budget for adult literacy. In addition, in the Budget Statement of the Minister for Finance on 3 December 1997 the budget for adult literacy was increased by £2 million to £4.065 million. That additional funding represents an increase of nearly double the initial 1997 provision.
The Irish Vocational Education Association, the representative body for vocational education committees, has been asked for its observations on how to put the extra funds to most effective use. The matter will also be discussed with the National Adult Literacy Agency. It has, however, been decided that the funds will be used entirely for literacy to the exclusion of community education.
The Fianna Fáil Election Manifesto states that the adult literacy and community education budget would be increased to a minimum of £4 million and that commitment was honoured within months of our taking office.
I intend to continue to increase the provision for the relief of adult illiteracy as resources permit. The development of the adult literacy service will be treated in the forthcoming Green Paper on Adult Education.
Regarding the implications of the survey, three main issues are highlighted in its findings. The Minister dealt with one of them, adult literacy programmes. Will the Minister agree that the findings support the view expressed in the Green Paper on Education, that a great number of people fall within the lower and middle range of literacy scales and are unable to participate fully in the economic and civic life of today's advanced nation? That is a horrendous finding in anyone's language. Will the Minister set up structures to provide for consultation with his colleague, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, to see what can be done to improve people's participation in economic life, particularly in the industrial sector? I will not detail the roots of the problem which are outlined in the survey, but it is necessary to identify them and come up with solid findings on how we can address the problem of a level of under performance in Irish industry compared to other nations of the developed world in tasks involving literacy skills?
I would have no difficulty in undertaking such collaboration with the Minister for Enterprise and Employment. Many of the initiatives in the realm of the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs are important in assisting adults generally, particularly the long-term unemployed, return to education. We took a step in that direction by doubling the budget for adult literacy, but we must do more in the years ahead for the wider provision of education services.
The bulk of those surveyed over 45 years of age would have had no experience of second level education. The vast majority of the older population would have left school at primary level and that is a factor. Early school leavers feature highly in terms of low literacy standards. One-third of the population have little involvement in activities requiring a functional level of literacy. By that I mean writing letters, visiting libraries and so on. It is a matter of considerable concern that we had a higher percentage at level one, the lowest level of literacy measured in the survey, than the other countries surveyed with the exception of Poland. Our figure of 14 per cent in respect of the higher levels four and five was a lower percentage than the other countries surveyed with the exception of Poland. One could argue that the countries surveyed were the more industrial and economically advanced. The survey included Canada, United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and the Republic of Ireland. I am extremely concerned about the survey findings and I accept the Deputy's points.
To put this in perspective, half a million of our people have basic literacy problems. That is a cause for concern in areas outside the education system. There are serious problems concerning paracetamol poisoning. Some people cannot read the information on the back of a box of paracetamol tablets. Resources need to be invested in the programmes but greater participation in them is also required. The level of participation in some areas has been quite low and we must tackle that. The Fianna Fáil Election Manifesto states that the Government will formulate and implement a national policy. Will the Government do that?
We are doing that. We are in the process of formulating a Green Paper and inviting submissions from all the groups involved. Groups such as NALA, the vocational education committees, Aontas and other organisations have experience in the field of adult literacy provision and adult education generally. It is important to draw on their experience and utilise it in terms of the proper allocation of the additional money that has been made available. Double the initial financial provision has now been provided. I am a great believer in not throwing money at problems. Many submissions were made in advance of the election by respective interest groups, which proposed that at a minimum it was necessary to double the budget. We successfully did that within months of coming into office, but in addition to that it is necessary to have a policy dimension to tackling this problem. That is where the Green Paper and consultation with the various bodies come into play.
I am amazed that the Minister seemed to be surprised at the scale of the literacy problem. Does the Minister agree that to have one out every four adults with basic literacy problems is a result one might get in a Third World country, not in a country that has had compulsory primary education for as long as the State is in existence and free second level education for the past 30 years?
Since this report was published what consideration has the Minister given to what is going wrong with the education system which has produced this appalling literacy problem? Has he examined what is happening in primary education? To what extent are pupils leaving primary school without being able to read or write properly? I welcome the measures put forward in the adult education sector, but does the Minister accept that there has been a problem in the education system generally? Will he indicate what the problem is and what has and is being done to address it?
We must be careful not to draw simplistic conclusions about a survey which has an extensive age profile. Many of those surveyed did not have a second level education. "Low level one" as it is described in the report equates with the reading ability of an average 12 year old. The OECD report was well known nine to 12 months ago and very little action was taken when the Deputy's party was in Government. Successive Governments cannot take credit for the level of investment in adult literacy.
A fundamental review of the primary curriculum is under way and we hope the new curriculum will be published by the end of this year. It is being undertaken by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in consultation with the partners and will involve a greater emphasis on literacy and numeracy standards. In response to an earlier question I announced that we intend to have a national survey every five years on literacy and numeracy standards so that we will be in a better position to monitor the situation than in the past. It was agreed earlier that it was a matter of regret that such surveys were irregular in the past.
Is the Minister aware of the finding in the study that the likelihood of people with low literacy achievements participating in adult education was about one fifth of that of the more accomplished? Does the Minister agree that if adult education is to serve those with literacy problems he must have novel outreach initiatives to target those people? While he — rightly — congratulates himself for making more money available to promote literacy, does he agree that £6 per person with literacy problems will not go very far? When one spreads the £4 million among the 700,000 people with literacy problems, £6 per person is the amount available to fund such schemes. The Minister should examine novel approaches and greatly enhance the provision of funds.
I do not accept it is only £4 million. That amount is for a specific allocation to the adult education area, adult literacy in particular. Through the broad education allocation considerable funds are made available to adult education generally. I agree with the Deputy's point that a finding of the study was that those who need adult education most are less likely to get it. Alarmingly, another finding of the report was that many who have serious literacy problems regard their own literacy skills as excellent. People did not realise they had low levels of literacy. I take the Deputy's point on the need for more outreach programmes.
There are many consistent trends in economic, social and educational disadvantage from an early age. It is the degree to which we link those which is important so that targeting education intervention at areas of disadvantage will yield results on literacy problems. I envisage an approach of expanding the home-school liaison programme in areas of disadvantage and getting more parents involved with the schools their children attend and, perhaps, providing literacy courses on the school campus for the parents. In Cork city, for example, I know there was tremendous secrecy attached to illiterate adults going to literacy classes. They were not widely advertised but were make known by word of mouth. Indeed, there can still be a stigma attached to availing of the service.
We need to be more innovative in the programmes we provide and the manner in which they are provided. We need to reach out more to the constituency that requires additional literacy programmes.
A section of the report comments on the adverse impact of television on literacy and the involvement of people in other pursuits. In this era of increasing exposure to television, does the Minister consider that his Department has a role in seeking to educate people to a more balanced use of their television viewing time? Many children are becoming too passive through excessive television viewing and this is a serious matter in the context of the literacy problems outlined in the report. Has the Minister any thoughts or proposals in this regard?
I have thoughts on it as a parent and as Minister for Education and Science. The preoccupation with television and video is disquieting. Children are spending more and more time in front of the television. On the one hand, one can argue that there are benefits to it but we may have to wait to see what happens the present generation. Obviously, the more time one spends watching television the less time one has for concentrating on developing skills in literacy and other areas. Television does not feature as a core part of the education curriculum. We can give advice to parents but I cannot switch off televisions around the country. That would not be a logical approach even if I could do it.
This matter is related to the development of technology and it is a matter of concern. However, we need to focus on the curriculum in the schools system, make sure it gives proper priority to basic literacy standards, ensure there is regular assessment of what is happening in the primary schools in terms of attainment of awards and ensure we develop systems which lend themselves to international comparisons. A difficulty to date has been the degree to which international tests do not compare with our own because different test models and methodologies are used. There is a need for greater harmony in that regard.
