Gov’t Launches National Adult Literacy Drive | News

The Government of Liberia has launched the National Accelerated Adult Literacy Program (NAALP), targeting an increase in the country’s adult literacy rate from 58.6 percent to 62.8 percent as part of efforts to address persistent educational exclusion and promote inclusive national development.

The program, launched by the Ministry of Education, will initially target six counties identified as having some of Liberia’s lowest literacy levels: Grand Kru, Bong, Grand Bassa, Bomi, Lofa and Rivercess.

Speaking at the launch, Education Minister Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah said the initiative represents an effort by the government to close the adult education gap and ensure that Liberians who did not have the opportunity to acquire basic literacy skills are not permanently left behind.

“Education is a human right,” Minister Jallah said, emphasizing that a Liberian who, for reasons beyond their control, did not acquire basic literacy skills should still have an opportunity to learn.

She said Liberia cannot achieve sustainable development while a significant portion of its adult population remains unable to read and write.

According to figures presented at the launch, Liberia’s national adult literacy rate stands at about 58.6 percent, while literacy in rural areas falls to approximately 43.8 percent.

Minister Jallah said the national average also conceals significant disparities, particularly between urban and rural communities and between men and women, with women continuing to experience a disproportionate share of educational exclusion.

She warned that the consequences of adult illiteracy extend far beyond the inability to read a book or write a sentence, affecting people’s ability to conduct businesses, access financial services, understand health information and participate fully in civic and economic activities.

Using the example of a market woman, the education minister said an adult may possess years of business experience and understand the prices, profits and customers associated with her trade but still be forced to depend on others to complete basic written transactions.

She said such dependence can become particularly challenging as financial services increasingly move to digital platforms.

“Adult literacy reaches far beyond the classroom,” Jallah said, arguing that literacy affects how independently citizens conduct business, manage finances, access health services and participate in the country’s economic and civic life.

The Education Minister said NAALP will prioritize practical and relevant learning that responds to the realities of adult life.

She said adult learners cannot be treated like children because they have households to manage, farms to tend, businesses to operate and families to support.

The program, she explained, will therefore focus on skills that can immediately improve people’s lives, including basic reading and writing, numeracy, business recordkeeping, profit calculation, understanding loan agreements and verifying mobile money transactions.

“Adult education must respect life,” Jallah said, stressing that learning opportunities must be designed around the responsibilities of adult learners.

She added that literacy centers would not necessarily be confined to traditional school buildings, pointing to existing initiatives where adults learn in churches, community spaces and other locations within their communities.

According to the Minister, bringing education directly to communities is particularly important for adults who may not have the time or resources to attend conventional classes.

While the first phase of NAALP will concentrate on six priority counties, the Education Ministry said the broader objective is to establish a coordinated national framework for adult literacy.

Jallah acknowledged the work of organizations that have supported adult education across Liberia, including Mission Alliance, We Care Foundation, the Lutheran Church Self-Help Initiative for Sustainable Development, the Liberia Translation and Literacy Organization, Concern Worldwide, the Development Education Network Liberia, the National Adult Education Association of Liberia and UNESCO.

She said these organizations have accumulated valuable experience in delivering literacy programs but stressed that government now needs to provide stronger national coordination.

“We must align under one national framework,” she said, noting that government must know who is being reached, where literacy gaps remain and whether learners are actually acquiring the intended skills.

The Minister said the success of NAALP will therefore not be measured simply by the number of people registered in literacy centers, but by their ability to apply what they learn in their daily lives.

The government’s decision to prioritize areas with low literacy rates is also expected to place greater emphasis on rural residents and women.

Jallah said Liberia’s literacy challenge cannot be addressed through a uniform approach because national averages often hide significant geographic and gender disparities.

She maintained that a person’s opportunity to acquire basic education should not depend on where they live or whether they are male or female.

The Minister also linked the adult literacy initiative to the government’s wider education reform agenda, including the Back to My Classroom campaign, which seeks to return 80,000 out-of-school children to school in seven targeted counties.

She said educating adults can also influence children, as parents who develop literacy skills can create stronger learning environments within their households.

“When a child sees a parent practicing writing or solving arithmetic at night, education transforms from a school task into a family culture,” Jallah said.

Jallah cautioned that the success of NAALP will depend on whether the initiative can be sustained beyond its initial launch.

She noted that education programs in Liberia have sometimes produced positive results but later declined or disappeared when administrations changed.

The Education Ministry is therefore considering ways to strengthen the institutional and legal framework surrounding adult literacy to ensure that the program becomes part of Liberia’s long-term education strategy.

She said the government’s objective is not to launch another short-term project, but to establish a system capable of continuously providing learning opportunities to adults across the country.

“We cannot change the past, but we can shape the present and move the future,” Jallah said.

The Minister expressed confidence that Liberia could surpass the 62.8 percent literacy target, citing the experience of existing partners and literacy programs already operating in communities.

She also called on stakeholders to move beyond launch ceremonies and ensure that the program produces measurable improvements in the lives of adult learners.

For the Ministry of Education, the ultimate objective is to ensure that literacy becomes a tool for economic independence, stronger families and broader national development—not simply a statistic recorded in national reports.