Moreover, existing adult literacy programmes have failed to attract the adult population because they have not adequately addressed their practical needs and expectations.
The Yemeni government has been implementing adult literacy programmes in an attempt to combat illiteracy among youth and adults.
Overall, state adult literacy programmes proved to be very unattractive even to young school drop-outs who wished to resume and complete their elementary studies.
The contents and methodologies of an adult literacy programmes must be contextualised and based on the specific situation, needs and interests of the learners.
The government then developed a national adult literacy strategy that emphasised the involvement of families and the diversification of adult literacy programmes in the workplace.
Programme participants who were examined by district education officials in the framework of formal literacy standards have achieved higher literacy results than learners from conventional adult literacy programmes.
About 80% were women and the retention rate was between 80 and 90%, which is rarely achieved in many adult literacy programmes which employ a conventional training methodology.
Success cases like the one sighted above are many and therefore serve to show that adult education programmes can and are indeed a vehicle for upward socio-economic mobility.
As a result, withdrawal rates from state adult literacy programmes were extremely high, estimated at 80-90 %, while the ability of graduates to read unfamiliar texts, even after two years of instruction, remained very low.
The methodology used in this programme and the REFLECT approach to training have been officially recognised by Ministry of Education in Vietnam and, as a result, has been officially adopted as the key method in adult literacy programmes.
The Ministry of Education issued a decree establishing an official seal of approval and two types of certificate to be awarded to states and municipalities who succeed in providing good and effective basic education, including youth and adult literacy programmes.
Although it is widely recognised that eliminating gender disparities with regards to access to education is essential for long-term social and economic development, progress towards this objective has been limited as evidenced by, for example, the limited range of adult literacy programmes targeting women.
The traditional system of emphasising investment in formal education at the expense of adult literacy and education programmes has, however, worsened the situation.
Prioritising investment in lifelong learning for women, creating multi-purpose community learning spaces and centres, improving access to and participation in the full range of adult learning and education programmes for women are among the necessary steps to enhance the status of women and facilitate the achievement of gender equality and equity in and through education.
UNESCO: Detailview | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
In addition, it has increased funding for schools development, resources procurement, human resources development and adult non-formal education programmes.
However, with support from international organizations, the government set to restructure the education system by introducing laws such as free and compulsory education for children up to age 16, and increased the budgets for school system expansion, human resources development and adult non-formal education programmes.
But almost all adult services split alcohol and drugs into two completely separate programmes in different locations with different counsellors and critics say that can often mean young people drop out.
BBC: Newsbeat - The P Word - Drug habits see a 'major shift'
Various NGOs concerned with adult and youth literacy shared their experiences in the implementation of literacy programmes.
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