Brunei Most Literate Country In Asean
By Fei Phoon

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam's home grown force of literates effortlessly topped adult literacy rates for Southeast Asia' in 2004.

Figures from worldwide literacy assessments by Unesco revealed Brunei Darussalam as the most-educated Asean member country.

Nearly 99 per cent of Bruneian youth had received at least primary level education, while an estimated 92.7 per cent of Bruneian adults are officially able to read and write.

This is despite the fact that the percentage of Bruneians in tertiary education - at 13 per cent - falls well below the regional average of 23 per cent for Asia and the Pacific.

Thailand was recorded as having produced the highest percentage of higher education graduates at least 41 per cent of its population was educated to tertiary level.

Malaysia and the Philippines were far behind, having placed at least 29 per cent of their population through higher educational institutions. The Philippines also achieved a close second in Asean rankings for adult literacy, at 92.6 per cent. Lao PDR was at the bottom with only 68.7 per cent of its citizens literate.

Brunei was also notably ranked 34th for adult literacy in the United Nations Human Development report for, 2006, with the United Kingdom, boasting a 99 per cent adult literacy rate, at 18th place.

Previously Brunei's literate adults stood at 85.5 per cent of the population in 1990.

A bilingual education policy was only imposed on all Bruneian schools when it achieved independence in 1984, in order to develop equally students' proficiency in both English and Malay languages.

Primary school education is provided free of charge by government schools to citizens and permanent residents of Brunei Darussalam.

Strategies by the Ministry of Education towards human capital development and the nurturing of a knowledge-based economy through both formal and non-formal education led Brunei's literacy rate to soar from the initial 69 per cent to 92.5 per cent in 2001. The Ministry of Education recommends that students complete at least 12 years of education, consisting of seven years in primary school and five years in lower and upper secondary school, or alternatively in a vocational or technical course.

The Unesco Institute of Statistics (UIS) gathers and updates its statistics on literacy biannually, based on national surveys and censuses.

Data on culture and communication are associated with literacy, and include figures on total books produced and published locally, as well as cinema attendance.

The UIS aims to raise awareness internationally of the importance of developing local capacities for data collection and analysis. -- Courtesy of The Brrunei Times

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