The National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) says it will embark on a vigorous literacy programme immediately after the National Grade Six Assessment.

NCERD said it will target students with low literacy levels countrywide who were assessed by their teachers at the various grades, a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said. NCERD Director Mohandatt Goolsarran said the course was introduced last year and focuses on upgrading students’ literacy and numeracy skills. He said it is an additional effort NCERD and the education ministry are making to fast- track literacy.

Goolsarran said emphasis will be placed on literacy to ensure that the students can read and write their names in script and sign it in cursive, read and interpret a paragraph then answer questions and read and interpret utility bills. “We believe if they move to secondary school, with the literacy training they have they would have an advantage to benefit from instruction in secondary schools,” he said.

The director said too literacy and numeracy at the primary level is the focus as “that’s the foundation if any building of education is to take place.” He said students who have been identified by their schools for entry into the programme would be obligated to attend. Parents who object to their child’s inclusion “must demonstrate that the child has reached the level of literacy that is acceptable to carry on the regular work that comes post-National Grade Six Assessment,” Goolsarran said. He also said that the programme’s success depends on parents’ cooperation and commitment from all teachers and others conducting it.