40,000 people in C. Sulawesi illiterate

40,000 people in C. Sulawesi illiterate

PALU, Central Sulawesi: At least 40,000 people between the
ages of 10 to 45 of eight regencies in Central Sulawesi are
illiterate, the provincial education office in Palu revealed.

Uhra Lamaraunda, head of the office, said in Palu on Thursday
that except in the provincial capital, the illiterate citizens
were distributed almost evenly across the regencies of Donggala,
Poso, Banggai, Tolitoli, Morowali, Buol, the Banggai Islands and
Parigi Moutong.

She attributed the high rate of illiteracy to the unfavorable
geographic conditions of Central Sulawesi and the recall of most
of the teaching personnel assigned to the region.

With a budget allocation of around Rp 2 billion, Lamaraunda
said the office had set a target of 3,800 people in their 2003
literacy program, through a new method of community
participation, aside from the conventional teaching method. --
Antara