101,000 illiterate in East Timor

DILI: About 101,000 East Timorese aged between 10 and 44 years are illiterate, local education office chief Andry Sutardi said Saturday.

Andry said the local government had initiated literacy courses in Baucau and Dili.

The Dili training center serves people from nine regencies in the western half of the province. The regencies are Liquisa, Aileu, Ermera, Ainaro, Same, Kovalima, Bobonaro, Ambeno and Dili.

The center in Baucau offers out-of-school classes for people from the eastern regions of Baucau, Manatuto, Viqueque and Lautem.

"The courses are open for every resident who wants to learn how to read and write," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

The courses also taught entrepreneurial skills, and participants interested in starting small businesses were eligible to government aid, he added. (pan)