(MENAFN- Caribbean News Now) Dear Sir:
The consequences of illiteracy are many and harmful in several respects. As well as affecting illiterate individuals themselves in their daily lives and often jeopardizing their future, this scourge has a significant effect on society, both socially and economically.
It is said that the literacy rate in Grenada is 98 percent. I refute those statistics as bloated figures on paper and this could not have reflected the true rate in the country.
I will tell you why those figures could not have been true based on observations over the decades. It tells that Grenadians are lacking knowledge in many areas. They have made many poor decisions voting one party in power for over five terms.
The evidence is there and it is quite clear that we can see how illiteracy amongst Grenadians has eroded our core-values, integrity, leadership, respect and responsibility. It has also destroyed the moral fabric of the society and what we once stood for as a people and as a nation.
I will continue to echo, the sentiments, that under the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG), led by Cde Maurice Bishop. Grenadians had national pride and patriotism and they were very much involved in the development of their communities and rebuilding of their country. How many Grenadians can proudly say today that they are involved or have contributed significantly towards making this country a better place?
The PRG had visions of social programs to aid the general welfare of the people of Grenada.
Cde Maurice Bishop ensured that Grenadians were educated and he introduced many programs that made our people literate. Our literacy level elevated to a higher standard here in Grenada.
I remember how important these programs were, the National In-Service Teacher Education Programme (NISTEP), Community Day School Programme (CDSP) and the Center for Popular Education (CPE), Higher Education, Multi-National Scholarship Programme and UWI, Young Pioneers, student councils, zonal councils and the list goes on.
Many of us Grenadians who embraced and embodied the ideals of what the revolution had to offer know it did us lots of good holistically and economically and like everything else it had its advantages and disadvantages. These were watershed moments in our nation's history that we have to be proud of as Grenadians.
Somehow the pride that once branded us as true Grenadian patriots has now been lost but the only way we can regain that sense of patriotism and national pride is through a paradigm shift. I cannot attest what it would be and when but history always has a way of repeating itself.
Grenada has earned its place and respect when it comes to inspiring the black power movement in the United States and other countries around the world because Cde Maurice Bishop was a pioneer, he was not perfect but he was a leader we all could look up to.
All those counter-revolutionaries that hated the revolution with a passion, you are are solely responsible for taking Grenada backwards today instead of forward because Grenada made lots of strides. We were a small developing island-state to be reckoned with and our only competitor back then was Barbados. Sadly after falling of the revolution, our factories were dismantled and given away or sold just to erase all memories of it.
The current prime minister was part of the Hubert Blaize government back then and therefore he has to accept responsibility for putting Grenada in reverse gears.
I will never forgive these rogue individuals for this level of atrocities against the state of Grenada because it is like committing treason.
Blaize's motto has always been heaping praises on the US for taking 'Grenada out of the stinking communism hole.' But what did the American government and Blaize do to better the lives of Grenadians? Did they bring developments like we have seen in less than four years under the PRG?
When I look back at where we came from and where we are today, and how backwards we have become, I get angry and upset with our people for putting us in those awkward positions over and over again. It is because we are an illiterate nation, where the illiteracy level is very high among both elders and youths.
I castigate lots of blame on the current administration who have been in office the longest and yet they have not done enough in educating our people, and I am not talking about giving youngsters scholarships or the defunct IMANI program. I'm simply talking about programs that make our people literate.
They were more concerned with getting elected into office on numerous occasions yet they have failed in terms of holistic development and human resources.
I firmly believe why this level of illiteracy has been allowed to escalate is because it keeps the ruling party in power because it is always easier to manipulate uneducated people than educated ones.
Since literacy is an essential tool for individuals and states to be competitive in the new global knowledge economy, many positions remain vacant for lack of personnel adequately trained to hold them.
The higher the percentage of adults with low literacy proficiency, the slower the overall long-term GDP growth rate will be. The difficulty understanding societal issues lowers the level of community involvement and civic participation.
Without the basic tools necessary for achieving their goals, individuals without an adequate level of literacy cannot be involved fully and on a completely equal basis in social and political discourse.
Brian J.M. Joseph
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