An elderly man learns how to write in a school for adult education in the Kingdom. Saudi Gazette The Arabic League for Education, Culture & Science Organization announced that 97 million people in the Arab world cannot read or write. In a recent workshop held in Jeddah, the organization expressed illiteracy rate is disturbingly high, amounting to 27.9 percent being illiterate, among the 350 million people that make up the population in the Arab countries. Much effort has been exerted to eradicate illiteracy in the Kingdom. For example, 20 years ago, there were only 524 adult literacy schools while today more than 2,435 schools have been established to teach adults how to read and write. Although the rate of illiteracy has decreased in the Kingdom in the past few years, a lot needs be done to improve literacy rate. In a United Nations Development Program report in the year 2009, Saudi Arabia ranked 115 in the literacy rate of its population. More emphasis needs to be placed on adult education, more men and women must be qualified and trained to be competent in teaching the elderly, success rate of such schools must be tracked along with their syllabus, programs, and end of course exams. Many issues were discussed during this workshop such as better evaluation processes of adult education teachers. A representative from the Arabic League for Education, Culture & Science Organization (ALECSO), Dr. Yahya Al-Saydi expressed that teachers should take advantage of educational tools such as visual aids, computer programs, flash cards, a folder to collect students' work and achievements. Ahmad Al-Zahrani, Assistant Director of the Administration for Education in Jeddah, added that close evaluation of teachers offering adult education in the Kingdom will help identify their strengths and weaknesses which in return will have a positive impact on fighting illiteracy. If the education system is redesigned to serve the elderly better, there will be a sharp decrease in illiteracy rate among this target group. __
