Volume 6, Issue 1, 2001
Table of Contents

Numeracy -
A JAMAL - FANSHAWE
Basic Education Project

By Bruce Wilson
Coordinator, International Partnerships
Fanshawe College

In 1972, the rate of illiteracy in Jamaica was estimated at between 40 to 50 percent of the adult population, leading the Government of Jamaica to establish the National Literacy Board. In 1974, the Board was restructured as the Jamaican Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL) and assumed the leadership of a national campaign for improved literacy, which soon turned into a popular "movement" that swept the nation. The objectives of JAMAL in the 1970s were to:

In 1982, JAMAL’s programs were redesigned to include additional objectives. The prevention of illiteracy by ensuring that children aged 6-12 attend school regularly became a priority, as did the provision of literacy and basic occupational skills training in agriculture, auto mechanics, plumbing, appliance repair, sewing, crafts, tourism and wood working, for new readers over 15 years of age. During the 1990s, JAMAL again restructured to play a more pivotal role in the delivery of non-formal adult education.

As a grassroots-driven, bottom-up organization, JAMAL’s strength lies in its many stakeholders, including a national network of groups of volunteers, from all sectors of Jamaican society, who work in the country’s thirteen regional districts or "parishes". Other stakeholders include members of the Jamaican private sector who pay JAMAL for the literacy and numeracy training of their employees.

JAMAL has praised the contribution and expert advice and guidance provided by two Canadian community colleges. From 1996-1997, George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology worked with JAMAL on a CIDA-funded Canadian College Partnership Program (CCPP) project entitled "Life Skills Training of Trainers". More recently, JAMAL partnered with Fanshawe College on a Numeracy Training project. These projects have had a significant impact in terms of strengthening JAMAL’s capacity to deliver literacy, numeracy and other basic education services at the grassroots level throughout Jamaica.

The goal of the current Project is to enable JAMAL to deliver numeracy training; support its lead role in the establishment of a National Adult Education Commission (NAEC) that will facilitate the development and delivery of non-formal education in Jamaica; and, enhance JAMAL’s capacity to provide numeracy curricula to other Caribbean countries. As such, a strategic plan and objectives for the NAEC have been developed, numeracy training has been introduced into JAMAL’s regular training programs and four educational manuals (levels 1 to 4) have been produced. Recognizing their quality and value, the Ministry of Education has mandated that these manuals become part of the learning materials for all primary schools in Jamaica.

A very significant and unexpected benefit of the Project was the enhancement of JAMAL’s capabilities to introduce "life-skills" training courses into its teaching repertoire. The "life-skills" courses teach marketable skills to unemployed adults and adolescents while they are improving their literacy and numeracy skills. An essential correlation exists between life skills and basic education. Without life or vocational skills - the ability to apply learning to income-generation and employment - basic education alone cannot fully empower individuals throughout the different stages and demands of life. The recognition and incorporation of life-skills within JAMAL’s programs was, to some degree, an extension of the work begun during JAMAL’s association with George Brown College and continued through Fanshawe.

The success of the JAMAL Fanshawe Partnership has now extended to Guyana where the Numeracy Learning Material is being used to train numeracy facilitators to deliver basic education through numeracy as well as life-skills in all regions of the country through the Literacy for a New Economy Project. Involving Bow Valley College, Mount Royal College and Fanshawe College, this CCPP project aims to strengthen the "essential skills" required for Guyanese youth to become empowered through employment and through effective functioning in their workplaces, communities and families. The Project will also strengthen the capacity of the University of Guyana’s Institute of Distance and Continuing Education to provide community outreach in ten regions in order to improve the target group’s skills in the areas of literacy, numeracy and entrepreneurial/business skills.

As such, Canadian colleges and institutes are continuing to build on their long history of cooperation and partnership with Caribbean educational institutions and community-based organizations in the area of basic education. Providing assistance in basic skills training throughout the region has generated visible and sustainable results that will continue to impact favourably on the region in coming years.