Second, cost effectiveness benefits from the deployment of voluntary workers who are well
motivated. If political will can be sustained and imagination captured and directed towards
achievable goals, costs are likely to be lower than with other modes of delivery. NGO's may
be especially suited to this kind of mobilisation. Even illiterate parents can act as volunteers
working with their children on common tasks. Where a high proportion of voluntary support
is mobilised there remains a need for appropriately trained facilitators and for some material
inputs that are otherwise likely to be unavailable e.g. printed materials.
Third, external assistance may need careful targeting on those areas where resource needs are
most acute and where some comparative advantage lays. This may be most likely in relation
to the technical skills of curriculum design and development, the production of literacy
materials, and aspects of teacher/facilitator training. The danger exists that donor emphasis on
supply side problems undervalues the importance of understanding effective demand for
literacy and ensuring that investment in programme materials does not neglect the need for
complementary action to motivate illiterates to become literate. Programmes that integrate a
variety of development concerns (health, shelter, environment, employment) may encourage
the perception of a range of benefits associated with the acquisition of literacy. External
assistance seems most appropriate where there is already in place a locally developed strategy
with political support and community involvement with some evidence of small scale
success.
Fourth, special emphasis on the needs of women and other marginalised groups should
remain a feature of literacy interventions. This is as true at the post-literacy level as for initial
literacy. The benefits associated with raised literacy amongst women are extensive and are
likely to have an impact on the level of literacy of children. Disproportionate numbers of
illiterates are concentrated amongst marginalised groups and this often places them at a
disadvantage in gaining access to support services that can raise incomes and alleviate
poverty.
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