Adults enrolled in literacy programmes in Edo State have lauded the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration for sustaining the adult literacy and non-formal education schemes in the state, noting that the programme has afforded hitherto disadvantaged adults opportunity for a second chance at life.
They disclosed this during the monthly monitoring and supervisory routine of the Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education (AANFE) at Adult Literacy and Skills Acquisition Centres in the state.
Mrs. Esosa Imaraibe, an adult student at the Fabiyi Akpata Centre, one of the adult literacy facilities, applauded the governor for the decision to sustain the programme, noting that she can now read and write after enrolling at the center.
“We are grateful to the governor for this initiative. This has given people like me hope so that we can get another chance at learning how to read and write and contribute to the development of the society.
At Izevbigie Learning Centre, Mrs Ruth Onozie, another student, said enrolling in the programme has afforded her opportunity to learn new things, as she is now better positioned to articulate her thoughts in English language. “I could hardly recognize the alphabets when I started, but now I can read and write, even two-letter words,” she said.
A Director in AANFE, Alhaji L.I Momoh, said the department has a mandate to eradicate illiteracy and expose Edo people to adult education through the state-owned adult literacy centres, which are in every local government area in the state.
“The centres have facilitators, who take the learners through the rudiments of basic education with the aim of ensuring the ability of reading and writing,” he said.
At some of the centres visited, the teachers were seen teaching the adult learners who were listening with rapt attention.
The AANFE came into existence in 1988 with the mandate to eradicate illiteracy from Edo State and is a department in the State’s Ministry of Education.
