Interpretation
(1)"Wen"means"pattern",and"illiterate"means"patternblindness".Referstoadultswhodon’tknowwords.
(2)Adultswhoknowwordsbutlacktheabilitytothink.
(3)Knowthecharactersbutdon’tunderstandthespecificlanguageandculture.
ForsomePinyintexts,especiallyfull-phonetictexts,aslongasyouunderstandtheminimumpronunciationrules,youcanpronouncethemoutandthenunderstandthemeaningofthetextthroughspeech.Therefore,thereareveryfewilliteratecountriesincountriesthatusethistypeofscript.
Forideographiccharacters,suchasChinesecharacters,itiseasytounderstandthemeaninganddonotknowthepronunciation,orknowthepronunciationanddonotknowthepronunciation.Withoutspeciallearninginlanguage,illiteracywillinevitablyoccur.Forvowel-taggedcharacters(mainlyBrahmiscripts),thespellingrulesarerelativelycomplicated,especiallythelowlevelofcultureandeducationinpopularareas,resultinginsimilarilliteracyratesincountriesandregions(SouthAsiancountriesandEthiopia)thatusethistypeofscript.high.
Thestatisticsarenotrigorous
Themethodofcountingilliteracyisnotrigorous.Whencountingtheliteracyrate,aslongastheliteracyrateiscountedinthefourthgradeofelementaryschool,thismethodisnotaccurateandMoregeneral,itiseasytochangethestatisticalliteracyrateintoastatisticalenrollmentrateinadisguisedform.Peoplewhohavenotreachedthefourthgradeofelementaryschoolwillstillbecountedasilliterateeveniftheyareself-taught.Accordingtothisinaccuratestatisticalmethod,thepoetGuChengandHongKongbusinessmanLiKa-shingwillalsoberegardedasilliterate;peoplewithlowIQOrpeoplewhoplaytruanteveryday.Suchpeoplecanlearnonlyalittlebitinschool,butaslongastheyhavepassedthefourthgradeofelementaryschool,theywillbemistakenlycountedasaliterategroup.
AccordingtotheresultsofthesixthnationalcensuspublishedbytheNationalBureauofStatisticsonApril28,2011,amongthepopulationof31provinces,autonomousregions,municipalitiesdirectlyundertheCentralGovernmentandactivemilitarypersonnelinmainlandChina,theilliteratepopulation(noThenumberofliteratepeopleis54,656573.
LiteracyEducation
AtthebeginningofNewChina,theilliteracyrateofChinesewomenwasover90%,andtheenrollmentrateofgirlswasonly20%.Theliteracycampaigninthe1950sliterallyliterate16millionwomenacrossthecountry;within45yearsafterthefoundingofthePeople’sRepublicofChina,110millionwomenacrossthecountrywereliterate,andthefemaleilliteracyratedroppedto30%in1993.
Intheprocessofpopularizingcompulsoryeducation,alllocalitieshaveactivelyformulatedpoliciestoencouragegirlstoenrollandimplementequalopportunitiesformenandwomeninschoolsatalllevels.Especiallysincethe1990s,theenrollmentrateofgirlshasincreasedsignificantly.Amongthe50.4millionpeoplewhowereliteratefrom1990to2002,62%werewomen.By2000,theilliteracyrateofChinesewomenhaddroppedto4.21%.
Attheturnoftheday,thebasictaskshavebeencompleted.
In2015,atotalof447,500illiteratepeoplewerewipedoutinmycountry,andanother474,800peoplewereparticipatinginliteracystudies.Thecountryhas14,800primaryschoolsforadultswith948,200students,and1,071juniorhighschoolsforadultswith337,000students.
In2016,atotalof331,200illiteratepeoplewerewipedoutacrossthecountry,adecreaseof116,400comparedwiththepreviousyear;another334,200wereparticipatinginliteracystudies,adecreaseof140,600comparedwiththepreviousyear.Therewere15,700literacyeducationfacultyandstaff,adecreaseof6,458overthepreviousyear;7,405full-timeteachers,adecreaseof3,307overthepreviousyear.
In2017,atotalof282,700illiteratepeoplewerewipedoutacrossthecountry,andanother304,000peoplewereparticipatinginliteracystudies.Thereare14,400literacyeducationfacultyandstaff,ofwhom7,546arefull-timeteachers.
Newilliteracy
Withtheadventoftheeraofknowledgeeconomy,illiteracydoesnotonlyreferto"illiteratepeople".Somepeoplemaybecomeilliteratebecauseoflackofknowledgeinacertainarea.Peoplewhocan'tuseforeignlanguagesorcomputersmaybecome"illiterate"inthenewera.
TheUnitedNationsredefinesthestandardofilliteracyinthenewcenturyanddividesilliteracyintothreecategories:
Thefirstcategoryispeoplewhocannotreadorread.Thisisatradition.Illiterateinthesense;
Thesecondcategory,peoplewhocannotrecognizemodernsocialsymbols(iemaps,graphsandothercommonlyusedcharts);
Thethirdcategory,theycannotusecomputersforlearning,Communicationandmanagement.
Thelattertwocategoriesareconsideredtobe"functionalilliterate".Althoughtheyhavereceivedbasicliteracyeducation,theyhavegreaterdifficultiesinthemodernsocietywhereinformationdisseminationishighlydeveloped.
Significanceofliteracy
TheprocessofliteracyhasalsobeenaccompaniedbytheliberationandequalrightsofwomeninNewChina.
Thepurposeof"literacy"isnotsimplytoenableanilliteratepersontorecognizeafewwords,buttoenablethemtobetterunderstandculture,cultivatethemselves,andmastertherealityneededtoleadabetterlife.Knowledgeandskills.
Lifelonglearning
Thedefinitionof"illiteracy"isconstantlychangingwiththechangesofthetimes,andachievingliteracystandardsisnotaneternalstandardforliteracy.Today’seraischangingwitheachpassingday,especiallyinrecentyears.Ifyoudon’tgetnewknowledgeforaweek,youmaynotbeabletokeepupwiththerhythmofothers,orevenunderstandwhatothersaresaying.Thisphenomenonisoftenjokinglycalled"newilliteracy."
Ifyoucannotcontinuetolearn,progress,andkeepupwiththepaceofsocialdevelopment,aneducatedand"knowledge-rich"personwillalsobecome"illiterate."Thismeansthateducation,especially"literacy"educationinabroadsense,willbealong-termtaskassociatedwithsocialdevelopment.
Inthissense,literacyworkcanalsobesaidtobe"onlyinprogress,notcompleted."Educationandlearningshouldbea"lifelong"careerforthecountry,society,andindividuals.
What"literacy"bringstoeveryChineseisnotonlytheadvancementofbasicknowledgeandculturallevel,butalsotheconceptofpopularizationofeducationandlifelonglearning.
Statistics
Accordingtotheresultsoftheseventhnationalcensus,asof0:00onNovember1,2020,amongthenationalpopulation,theilliteratepopulation(theilliteratepeopleaged15andabove))Was37,750,200.Comparedwiththesixthnationalcensusin2010,theilliteratepopulationdecreasedby16,906,373,andtheilliteracyratedroppedfrom4.08%to2.67%,adropof1.41percentagepoints.