New book on household literacy survey to be published

 By HELEN CHRISTINE KULI

THE National Literacy and Awareness Secretariat is expecting a new book to be published by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and shipped to PNG next month. 

The book entitled Household Literacy Survey 2011 in Eastern Highlands and Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea will be dated 2013. 

The objective of this survey was to assess the latest literacy situation, the literacy environment and use of literacy in sample households in Eastern Highlands and Autonomous Region of Bougainville to provide first-hand information to support literacy policy renewal and action planning aimed at accelerating the country’s progress towards achieving the “Education For All” literacy goal for 2015. 

The survey was jointly conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the National Literacy and Awareness Secretariat (NLAS), a part of the Education Department with technical and financial support from UNESCO. 

The NSO provided technical support in sample selection, training of enumerators, and collection and data entry. 

A national team of experts in surveys and literacy was established consisting of representatives of NSO, NLAS, the University of PNG and NGOs to guide the development of an appropriate research design and to address issues related to validity and reliability of the survey.  

Recognising the need for reliable data on the literacy environment and behaviour, the regional office of UNESCO Institute for Statistics – Assessment, Information Systems, Monitoring and Statistics Unit at the UNESCO office, in Bangkok – developed a method for collecting data on the literacy environment and literacy use using household surveys.

This method was applied to design and conduct sample household literacy survey, organised under the UNESCO Capacity Development for “Education for All” programme in two provinces of Papua New Guinea, Eastern Highlands and Bougainville in 2011. 

The two provinces were selected for the survey and some other activities of the capacity development education for all programme because the United Nations system had sub-offices set up in these two areas and assistance from the sub-offices could be explored. 

The survey is important in preserving the linguistic diversity in PNG while ensuring that an increasing number of people are able to read and write at least one of the official languages and seeing the future of languages policies and literacy actions in view. 

• Helen Kuli is a research and data base officer with the National Literacy and Awareness Secretariat of the Education Department