Ho Chi Minh City: Women’s Union and DOET attempt to raise women’s literacy rate to 99%

The aim of the cooperation activities is to heighten the literacy rate among 15-40 year-old women to 99% and prevent illiteracy recurrence, popularize primary education among 90% of women at this age and provide lower secondary education to 100% of presidents and vice-presidents of commune/ward Women’s Unions.

According to a HCMC Women’s Union’s survey conducted in 2002 among women members of 22 districts/quarters, 3,504 of them remain illiterate with the highest concentration - 507 illiterate women - in Can Gio district. By the end of 2005, literacy training has been given to 2,944 WU members (bringing the literacy rate up to 98.13%) and 3,421 non-members.

However, according to DOET statistics, illiteracy and illiteracy recurrence is still popular in some population groups. By the end of 2005, there remained 20,079 illiterate people in the city, of which 14,638 in the target group for literacy training.