The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, in collaboration with the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, have concluded plans to train 111 facilitators to boost adult literacy in Cross River State.

The 111 facilitators are drawn from the 312 adult literacy centres spread across the 18 local government areas of the state.

Speaking on the proposed six-day training workshop, Director, Cross River State Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education, Mrs. Comfort Effiom, said the 111 candidates were selected from the 214 facilitators to boost their capacity.

Effiom said that after the capacity building workshop for the facilitators, which commences on August 11, the agency would embark on a mass enlightenment campaign in rural areas to enhance adult literacy ratel at the grassroots.

She said the 312 centres had since 2007 enrolled 38, 174 adult learners, adding that, at the moment, adult literacy in the state stood at 80.3 per cent.

Effiom said, “In Cross River State, the agency, from 2007 to date, has improved a lot on adult populace that has never been to school, dropouts or neo-illiterates. The present literacy level among adults in the state is 80.3 per cent, with enrolment figure 38, 174 in 312 centres.

“This six days training workshop for adult literacy facilitators, on revitalisation of adult and youth literacy in Nigeria, is meant to enhance the capacity of the facilitators who would in turn pass on the knowledge to the adult learners.”

She said the target of the Liyel Imoke administration was to completely reduce illiteracy rate in the state before the end of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals target.

Effiom noted that the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Offiong Offiong, had, by the approval for the commencement of the workshop, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to its policy towards the reduction of adult illiteracy level to two per cent.