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NOTE: The following article is reprinted from the PROJECT LITERACY B.C.
INFORMATION PACKAGE.

FACTS, MYTHS AND REALITIES:
ILLITERACY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

To begin acting for literacy, you'll want to talk about literacy and illiteracy
with friends and neighbours, officials of educational institutions, business
leaders, and church, community or union groups. As you do so, it will be useful

to bear in mind some basic information, and to know what questions people
commonly ask.

This sheet includes some common questions and basic facts about illiteracy in BC
- that is, some statistics that are the best available characterization of the
extent of the problem. It also includes some of the realities of illiteracy in
British Columbia - that is, what it means in people's lives.

There are, officially, well over a quarter-million functionally illiterate
adults in Britisn Columbia - 274,690. That's 14.4% of the population. The rate

ranges from about 7% in North and West Vancouver to over 19% in the Selkirks. A
few school districts have rates over 30%.

These figures come from census data. They represent the number of people who
are at least 15 years old, and left school with no more than 8 years of
schooling, and without obtaining any other certificate. The assumption is that,
given the level of technological development in Canadian society and the
importance of reading in knitting together our communities, people need at least
9 years of schooling to gain functional literacy.

Most people involved in literacy work don't like having to use these statistics
because One Cannot simply equate school attendance with skill achievement. Some
people with 8 or fewer years of schooling read and write well. Other people who
have 9 or 10 or 12 years of schooling don't function at that level, and can't
cope with many daily literacy tasks.

On balance, though, the statistics don't exaggerate the problem.

There are a numver of common questions that people ask when they hear such
figures as a quarter-million functional illiterates.

Some people think that all illiterates must come from overseas, or not speak one
of Canada's official languages. In fact:
*57.3% of functional illiterates in BC were born in Canada, and
“ *77.5% speak either English or French at home (1 - See Sources at
‘end. |
_ ‘Some people think that all functional literates are older people.
“In fact:
_ *30% of all those with 8 or fewer years of schooling are under 45;
ie 14,610 British Columbians under 25 have 8 or fewer. years of.
school ing; np
wrwhile young women have a rate of 3.9%, young men' s rate As, half again
‘.. bas: high, 5.8% (2); 2 See Aa
“*these- statistics conceal young people who ‘stay in’ chal for 9 or more
“year's; ybut still don't read and write well.