According to a report by the State Institute for Adult Education (IEEA), in 2020 the state of Campeche registered that of 682,951 inhabitants aged 15 and over, 39 thousand 986 are illiterate, which represents 5.9 percent; however, according to the State Secretariat of Education (Seduc), the figure has now dropped to only 38,245 people.
The IEEA report indicates that 65 thousand 600 inhabitants do not have an elementary school education, this represents 9.6 percent, and 98 thousand 952 did not finish secondary school (14.5 percent) to add 204 thousand 538 people (29.9 percent) in educational lag in the Entity, an amount that was also reduced to 200 thousand 104 (29.3 percent), which -according to the dependency- indicates that 4 thousand 434 people from Campeche left that level of backwardness in their education.
Out of ignorance
Antonio de la Cruz is 50 years old, due to his economic situation and the lack of interest of his parents he did not go to school, he can hardly write his name thanks to the fact that his ex-wife taught him how to write down his name, so he could carry out any type of procedure.
He related that the lack of education prevented him from doing many things, in addition to the fact that it is difficult to get a job; “The one who cannot read is like the one who cannot see, anyone deceives you. You feel powerless because it is difficult to learn when you are already an adult”, he mentioned, later adding that for years he dedicated himself to sawing wood because he did not know how to do anything else.
Within the framework of International Literacy Day, which has been commemorated since 1967 to remember the importance of literacy as a factor of dignity and human rights, as well as to achieve progress towards a more educated and sustainable society, César Arana Cruz, educator of Conafe for more than 10 years highlighted that the situation of poverty, geographical location and lack of culture are the main barriers to reducing the lag in which this sector of the population finds itself.
In the State of Campeche and mainly in remote areas such as the municipalities of Candelaria and Calakmul, the situation of poverty, the remoteness of the communities, and the educational backwardness in which the adults and children alike are found, represent some of the factors that impede progress in the combat this social problem.
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