Building the literacy bridge

We know by heart what we’ve neglected over the last 30 years that gave birth to a serious problem with illiteracy here. It is a growing problem that needs to be resolved forthwith. Any non-deliberative discussion would only prolong the agony of helplessness. It is time that we take a proactive attitude to begin helping our people acquire lifetime skills through education.

Illiteracy isn’t solely a problem of high school drop-outs, but it is also found among high school graduates working in both sectors here. These are employees who never really learned basic English and Math. This group too needs a lot of help in learning the basic skills. It is an important step to opening up opportunities to attaining literacy before retiring. They need this skill both at work and at home.

With literacy under their belt, employees can eventually attain computer literacy that would help them attain maximum efficiency at work with greater. Computer literacy is attainable because by then, they would be capable of reading and comprehending instructional literature on how to use a computer through on the job training or through courses at the Northern Marianas College.

With literacy, they can find greater joy and ease helping their children with homework. It opens up opportunities for parents and children to work together. Communications is established where greater understanding is achieved between parents and their siblings. This rapport eventually leads into discussion of issues at the dinner table as the kids go through primary and secondary education. The benefits are boundless with literacy.

Perhaps it’s about time too that we review the academic programs of the Public School System with the view to identifying where improvements are needed. A dedicated effort in this area should lessen the burden of NMC allotting its rare resources to provide a safety net for high school graduates who failed to hone their basic skills earlier. The role of NMC in this regard certainly merits the accolades of the entire NMI Community. It’s a grand opportunity to reset individual goals to attaining lifetime skills that would prepare them for life after campus.

In our collective effort to eradicate illiteracy, both the Northern Marianas College and the Public School System must enlist the participation of bureaucrats, politicians and businessmen, three key groups who can make a difference in the success of this program. It is a daunting task that involves a process. It is the process that most people prefer avoiding, but there’s no other way out other than to go through it however difficult. It’s for the good of our people. Let’s do it. Si Yuus Maase`!