Literacy lower than normal in south-east

LITERACY levels in Waterford and the south-east are even poorer than in the rest of the country, experts believe.

As National Adult Literacy Awareness Week (NALAW) continues today, one local tutor said a lack of funding nationally means that only about 3% of those with difficulty are being helped.

There are 220 volunteers in the VEC’s literacy service across Waterford, Nicola McCarthy Hanlon of County Waterford VEC said.

“Nationally, the statistics show that as many as one-in-five adults have problems with literacy. But I would think the situation here in Waterford is even worse,” she said.

Demographic information from the region,

contained in the Waterford County Strategy for Economic, Social and Cultural Development 2002-2012, shows that just over 41% of young people in the region go on to third level education. While no precise literacy figures are available, experts believe the area lags behind on literacy too.

The service across Waterford is almost wholly reliant on volunteers.

“It’s the voluntary effort that keeps our service alive. We don’t have enough money. Because of that, courses are often finished earlier than we would like them to be,” Ms McCarthy Hanlon said.

As well as providing literacy and numeracy courses to as many as 800 adults at any one time, the Waterford service has been expanded over the years to include a host of other programmes.

Courses available include computers for women and men, literacy for people with disabilities, the driver theory test and basic maths. There’s also cooking for fun and literacy programmes specifically targeting members of the Travelling community.

“We now offer a huge variety of courses, including further education and training, and not just reading and writing anymore. Many of our students would go on to take their Junior Certificate or other exams.”

As is the national norm, more women than men use the Waterford service.

“Women typically outnumber men by two to one. We are still only getting to a small percentage of people but we would hope that this would grow, with more funding,” Ms McCarthy Hanlon added.

In Waterford, help is available in Dungarvan, Tramore, Lismore and Kilmacthomas as well as in the city. For enquiries in Waterford city, contact Joann Geraghty, Adult Literacy Officer, City of Waterford VEC on 051-854444 or in the county, contact Nicola McCarthy Hanlon, Co Waterford VEC on 058-42774.