At least 14,000 people cannot read or write in Monterrey and 60,000 in all of Nuevo León, which represents less than 1.4 percent of the total for both populations, reported Luis Raúl Casas Leal, state delegate of the National Institute for Adult Education (INEA).
In Monterrey, in addition to the 14,000 people who cannot read or write, there are those who have not completed some level of basic education, making a total of 175,000 people who have some type of educational gap.
“There are 175,000 people who are lagging behind, but 114 have not finished secondary school, approximately 40 have not finished primary school, and 14,000 cannot read; so the total number of people lagging behind in Monterrey is 175,” explained the federal official.
To combat this gap, Monterrey, a densely populated city, is part of the National Literacy Campaign, which seeks to raise the “white flag,” an action that aims to reduce the illiteracy rate nationwide to below four percent.
Casas Leal explained that these cases of people who cannot read or write are most common in the so-called poverty belts, that is, neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. Some even forget to read or write due to lack of practice.
“Monterrey and Nuevo León share very similar figures. The state has a 1.4 percent illiteracy rate, while Monterrey has approximately 14,000 illiterate people. The primary objective is to eradicate illiteracy,” said Raúl Casas.
During a collaboration agreement signing event with the Monterrey City Council, Raúl Casas explained that these figures keep Monterrey and the state in the spotlight, as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) awards this status to cities with an illiteracy rate of less than four percent.
The official said that 55 percent of these people are older adults, making it a greater challenge to provide education when considering motor or visual impairments.
Source: abcnoticias
